My Dragon Soul Mate
by levels
Summary: Lucy is caught between two men, and unfortunately they have to work things out. LaLuBix
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

Ever since Tenrou, since he opened his soul sight and caught a glimpse of her soul, his world had stopped. Normally he never spied on souls, he knew there was such a thing as a soulmate but they were so rare for Seith mages that he figured there was no point in peering at every person's inner selves he came across, it would have felt wrong to him.

He had gotten lucky that day though, and he was glad grimoire heart had decided to attack, despite the horrible situation.

He was waiting for her, luckily his team always came in right before she did and seemed to show up around the times she walked through the guild doors, it was pure luck and hey, he wasn't knocking it.

There she was, speak of the devil. Swaying hair, sashaying hips, her killer fifty watt smile that shone for everybody, even him and when she did smile at him he could pretend - for a moment - that it was meant _only_ for him and no one else, it made his breath catch.

He watched her walk across the room and sit at the bar, animatedly talking to Mira and asking for a strawberry smoothie, it was always her usual.

Lucy Heartfilia, the light of Fairy Tail, was his soulmate; he listened to her conversation with the white haired woman. "I really need to go on a mission that will pay out a lot without everything getting destroyed" he heard her laugh nervously "Even with going on S class missions with Erza they might as well be little solo jobs by the time Team Natsu is done." She plunked her head on the counter and Mira patted it softly, smiling apologetically.

"Don't worry Lucy, you'll pull through, you always do!" The bar maid replied cheerfully, cosplayers words were muffled next, "what was that Lucy?" the barmaid asked, a curious frown on her face.

"I said I might as well do what Natsu did and steal an S class mission" she replied when she came up for air. _Man she must be desperate if she was even considering something like that_ , he thought.

Mira's aura turned dark, "Lucy…" She began threateningly. Bickslow tensed ready to jump in if necessary, but the blonde held her hands out as if to ward off Mira's dark energy "I was kidding Mira!" she exclaimed sheepishly.

The takeover mage regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before returning to normal, she grinned at Lucy as if nothing had happened and she hadn't looked like she was gonna kill the little blonde. "I'll help you find someone to go on an S-class with you Lucy, if you want!" She told her, the smile she graced cosplayer with was rare and reserved for people Mira thought were her family; it was as big as the moon.

Lucy stared at the bar maid as if she were stupid. "There are only three S class mages here Mira and unless you're the one planning on going with me, then that leaves Laxus and there is no way in hell he'd ever consider going on a mission with me, _that's for damn sure_." She muttered the last words.

Bickslow had to chuckle at that one, he was startled when Laxus suddenly got up from his seat and in one smooth motion stood behind cosplayer.

This confused him, _what was his leader doing_?

Mira was turned away at that point so she hadn't seen the lightning slayer standing quietly behind Lucy with his arms crossed, Bickslow thought for a moment that Laxus heard them talking about him and was pissed about it, he frowned getting up, ready to intervene.

"I'll make him if he doesn't cooperate with you" Mira said, her back still turned, Lucy sweat dropped.

"No! Mira, don't make him do anything, I'll just ask and if he says no I'll figure something out." She laughed when Mira harrumphed and turned around stopping dead when she saw Laxus, still standing there, Bickslow was halfway there when Laxus words stopped him.

"I'll take you on an S-class mission blondie" he had leaned down so his lips were close to her ears and Bickslow clenched his fist, stalking over to the little group.

It was comical when Lucy squealed loud enough for the guild to hear and fell out of her seat when she turned to face him.

Laxus was right there though, catching her around the waist before she hit the floor, the celestial mage blushing furiously.

Bickslow felt a pang of anger and jealousy hit him like a sledgehammer, he had finally reached the pair and stood before his leader and his soulmate as she struggled to get out of his grasp. Laxus chuckling in amusement; "what's the matter blondie, you don't want me holding you?" He teased.

"Seriously Laxus?" she said in exasperation, Bickslow having had enough, reached down plucking her wrist he helped her stand up and pulled her flush against him. He caught her scent then, strawberries, honey and rain and he smiled down at her when her face was level with his chest and she looked up at him confused, blushing even harder, he smirked "Thanks Bickslow." She muttered.

He heard Laxus growl from behind her and Bickslow looked up frowning at him, had he set his sights on cosplayer? His frown turned into a glare that his leader didn't see; seeing as he had his mask on. He better not have, this was the one girl he couldn't have, and that was that.

"Okay, so what did you say?" Lucy turned around as carefully as she could; Mira was watching the whole exchange, noticing the poor blonde was practically sandwiched between the two guys. Her matchmaking was dangerously close to the surface; but she actually fought to suppress it as she tried to figure out what was going on with the two men, because they both clearly seemed more than distraught with each other and it was odd to see that.

Laxus pulled himself from glaring at Bickslow to look down on blondie before answering, "I said I'll take you on an S-class mission." He told her.-

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* * *

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Laxus smelled her before she walked through the guild doors, for once her annoying ass team wasn't trailing behind her, being loud as usual, or... even loud _er_ than usual.

She smelled like strawberries, honey and rain, it was intoxicating and often left him heady. Ever since she walked through the guild doors the first day she had been there and he had smelled her he knew… deep down, but pushed it away, he tried to simultaneously stay away from her and sometimes attempted to claim her back then.

Since then he made his mission to find out her daily habits and always showed up at the guild before she did, he studied her everyday… or stalked her, whichever anyone preferred to call it and he had to inwardly sigh in frustration at that.

He sat back in his seat his arms folded across his chest, _dragon mate_. He had heard the term when Gajeel discussed it with Levy, in his poor attempt to make her understand that's what the little bluenette was to the iron headed moron. When she finally did find out; the next day they came in and he noticed her sporting a scar like mark on her right forearm, he had never really got a good look at it but he was tempted to, that was for damn sure.

He just couldn't imagine the fellow dragon slayer being too happy if he grabbed Levy's arm and put his nose practically to it to see what it looked like, he didn't think she'd like it either… She might even hit him with something.

He rubbed the back of his neck shuddering slightly; the women in this guild were a force to be reckoned with.

His eyes had been following the blonde's movement as she practically danced her way up to the bar, did she even realize what she looked like when she walked? Was it on purpose? He growled inwardly at the thought of her sashaying around for other men, but he shook his head, she didn't really seem like the type.

He had no problem hearing every word that Mira and her spoke as she complained about her team. "I really need to go on a mission that will pay out a lot without everything getting destroyed" she was laughing nervously and he frowned, that idiot team of her was always getting her in trouble or destroying crap "Even with going on S class missions with Erza they might as well be little solo jobs by the time Team Natsu is done."

He 'tch'ed' at that one "don't worry Lucy" he heard the takeover mage respond, patting blondie on the head, "you'll pull through, you always do!"

He heard Lucy mutter something and only caught the last word, "what was that Lucy?" the bar maid asked her, Lucy looked up at her.

"I said I might as well do what Natsu did and steal an S class mission" Laxus cringed, he remembered letting the little blue cat steal a mission knowing blondie was going, and knowing he himself had put her in danger, there was no way he was letting her do that ever again.

He noticed the white haired woman's aura go dark and he saw Lucy shy from it, he almost leaped out of his seat, intent on throttling Mira for making Blondie feel threatened. Even if he knew deep down the white haired bar maid would never truly lay a finger on Blondie, he felt his dragon senses demanding he protect his mate. "Lucy…" The blonde held her hands out as if to ward off Mira's dark energy "I was kidding Mira!" she exclaimed sheepishly, and when Mira went back to normal he relaxed.

"I'll help you find someone to go on an S-class with you Lucy if you want!" She told her, Laxus brow twitched upward at that one.

Blondie must have had the same thoughts as him "There are only three S class mages here Mira and unless you're the one planning on going with me then that leaves Laxus" _exactly_ he thought smugly, "and there is no way in hell he'd ever consider going on a mission with me, that's for damn sure." He frowned; did she really think he was that much of an asshole?

He got up and walked over, Mira had turned her back to Lucy and began wiping a glass before speaking to Blondie; he crossed his arms, still a little miffed by what she said.

"I'll make him if he doesn't cooperate with you" Mira threatened, _oh was she now_? He cocked his eyebrow again at her.

"No! Mira, don't make him do anything, I'll just ask and if he says no I'll figure something out" he smiled, so she wasn't afraid of him, still…

He barely registered Mira making some sort of sound and turning to face her, stopping dead when she saw him looming over the celestial mage.

"I'll take you on an S-class mission blondie" he told her. He had leaned down far enough to let his words brush past her ear, making her squeal and turn around flailing in an attempt to see who had just spoke to her. He grinned but then quickly frowned as she fell toward the floor but he caught her instantly around the waist and pulled her against him, groaning when he felt her pressed into his chest.

He hadn't noticed Bickslow standing above him as he concentrated on blondie's movement she was squirming around in his arms and it wasn't helping certain things… he laughed "what's the matter Blondie, you don't want me holding you?" He teased her, watching as a blush spread across her face.

"Seriously Laxus?" When she said his name he felt an inner satisfaction gnaw at him, but it was quickly dissipated when she was suddenly yanked out of his arms and he stood up facing whoever dared to take her from him.

He was surprised to see his best friend now holding Blondie against him and he growled at him. Bickslow's head snapped up to frown at him, _who the hell does he think he is_? The lightning dragon slayer thought furiously.

"Thanks Bickslow" he heard her mutter and he ground his teeth at that. "Okay, so what did you say?" she had turned to face him as he was watching his team mate intently, ready to attack. He looked down and noticed how uncomfortable she was so close in proximity between to the two men, his mouth twitched. "I said I'll take you on an S-class mission" he said stepping back to allow her room and to move _away_ from Bickslow.

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* * *

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Lucy sighed in relief when Laxus stepped away, it was embarrassing enough having fallen practically in his lap and then to be pulled against Bickslow was even worse; she struggled with the blush threatening to fan her cheeks again.

"Really?" she asked him, her excitement was replacing her feelings of being uncomfortable, she had since then moved slightly away from Bickslow and felt like she could breathe again.

She heard the Seith mage shift behind her as she looked up at Laxus smiling brightly. He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded toward the S-class board upstairs "go pick one out and I'll go with you."

"I'll go to" She heard Bickslow say behind her and she turned to him confused, she didn't see the anger flit across Laxus face, but she did hear him snap at his friend "why?" he asked him

Bickslow's face went dark, or what you could see of it "I'm bored, I might as well go too… unless you don't want me to come Lucy." He said in an unsure manner, feigning a look of hurt if she rejected him and she sweat at that.

"Oh! No, no! You're fine, you can come!" She smiled brightly at him too, although this smile was a bit more nervous than the one she had given Laxus, Bickslow relaxed visibly all the same.

"Then it's settled then, we'll both go with you, go" he hooked a thumb over his shoulder indicating the S-class board and didn't move an inch forcing Lucy to brush past him, he grinned when she blushed for the hundredth time that day.

Laxus growled again but didn't say anything, instead he crossed his arms.

"Sooooo" they heard Mira say, neither men had even noticed her up until that point and they turned to face her "both of you are going with Lucy on an S-class mission?" she asked, she had this strange look on her face, that they both knew and inwardly groaned exasperatedly.

"Mira…" Laxus warned.

"Oh I was just wondering!" Mira sang and she spun around and hummed as she sprang into the kitchen, both men stared after her, wondering what that was about,. They both simultaneously turned and went up after Lucy who was peering at the S-class board, more toward the bottom of it so she was bent over pretty nicely and they both admired her silently, and giving each other equally as silent glares.

Lucy looked carefully over the requests, she was reading a particular one that caught her eye and she grabbed it standing up she turned to go back down stairs; bumping into both men, "oh!" she spluttered "I was coming to you" she laughed nervously at Laxus; he smiled down at her in an almost affectionate way? She shook her head, she was imagining things.

"What'd you find blondie?" he asked her, her eyebrow twitched at the nickname, it was bad enough Bickslow called her cosplayer.

She ignored it though, "idk…" she said thoughtfully, scanning the reward part of the request "I picked it, because the reward says it's an unknown key, there should only be two types of keys, obviously." She shrugged, the two men exchanged glances, it wasn't all that obvious to them, but they didn't interrupt "gold and silver, zodiac and normal keys, so…." She sighed "I want to check it out!" She finished giving them her killer fifty watt smile.

Bickslow flushed and Laxus grinned back at her, then turned and growled silently at Bickslow, he could hear his friend's heartbeat racing, and it was annoying him.

 _This is your best friend_ , a voice whispered in the back of his mind, but he shook it off, it didn't matter. Dragon mates were revered among dragons and dragon slayers, from what he had picked up, his mate was the most precious gift in his life and something he wouldn't take for granted.

Bickslow in the meantime had heard Laxus growl and turned to glare at him, the same thought crossed his mind, Laxus was his best friend, hell they were better friends with each other than Freed and Ever were with either one of them. That nagging thought tugged on his mind, but he brushed it off. It didn't matter, Lucy was the light to his soul, soulmates were special among Seith mages, and he wasn't going to let her go.

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 **I'm a little nervous about this one, because you know I've never considered posting a threesome story until a couple days ago, and not sure how everyone will feel about it, but, I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

Clover Town:  
Celestial mage desperately needed to destroy a creature in the cave of a mountain.  
Reward unknown celestial key, 5.000.000 jewel.

"This is an odd request" Lucy noted as she and the two men sat down on the train, "I wonder why Blue Pegasus hasn't taken care of it?" She wondered looking up at them, Bickslow was staring out the window and Laxus looked a little green, even though the train hadn't even moved yet.

Laxus shrugged and smirked "maybe cause their not as strong as Fairy Tail" he commented, Lucy's brows scrunched up and she swatted the other blonde on the knee.

"That's not nice Laxus!" She scolded him; he scowled at her but then grinned.

"Not afraid of me Blondie?" He asked the question had been nagging the back of his brain for forever; he was terrified she would hate him or be scared of him, but her own scowl got even deeper.

"No I'm not Laxus Dreyar, and you're blonde too!" she scolded him twice.

He bellowed out a laugh "whatever Blondie" he teased, then the train lurched forward and he turned a darker shade of green. Lucy frowned and pat the seat next to her, "come here, lay your head on my lap, it helps Natsu." She smiled softly at him.

He growled inwardly over the mention of the pink haired idiot laying his head on his blondie's lap, but wasted no time himself practically launching his body on the opposite seat and settling nicely on her while she reached out and stroked his head, he practically purred at the contact.

Laxus soon fell asleep and Bickslow was pointedly staring out the window, he wanted rip his friend off cosplayer's lap, pick her up and put her on his own lap, or at least take her somewhere far away from the lightning slayer.

He thought of all the devious ways he could get Lucy away from Laxus and disappear with her that he hadn't heard her at first. "…hey Bickslow?" Lucy was still whispering but she said his name more forcefully, after having said it a couple times now.

He turned "what?" He asked almost begrudgingly, she was still playing with Laxus hair and it was really grating on his nerves.

"Why do you wear a mask all the time?" She asked him, he was taken aback by her question, his babies floated nervously around him.

"Because everyone thinks I'll control them somehow, with my figure eyes" he told her bitterly, "eye's eyes!" they repeated in the same bitter tone.

She frowned and cocked her head to the side, "you can can't you?" she asked; it was such an innocent question and tugged on his heart strings.

"Well, yeah" he said sadly "it doesn't mean I'm going to though" he felt the bitterness creep up his throat again, what kind of monster did they think he was? His babies didn't repeat, instead they floated sadly around him.

Lucy frowned "I'm sorry" she said quietly, he frowned at her response.

"Why are you sorry Cosplayer?" "Cosplayer! Cosplayer!" They repeated happily, her eyebrow twitched at the nickname, but her sympathy won over.

"Because, I don't know how it makes you feel, but you shouldn't have to wear it all the time, because people can't control their own fear, it's ridiculous!" She said passionately.

He smiled at that one, "so what do you think Cosplayer? You scared of me?" He grinned as if he was joking, but it bothered him thinking she was.

She rolled her eyes "first of all, my name is Lucy, not Cosplayer" she quit playing with Laxus hair for a minute to point a finger in the air "secondly," she pointed the second finger "I'm not scared of you, and I'd actually prefer if you didn't wear it! Because truthfully, I think it's more unnerving you wearing a mask than me seeing your face…" She finished in a lower voice, she was feeling unsure just then, she had outburst feeling angry over the way people felt about him, being scared of him, she was upset he thought she was too and she was afraid she might have offended him with that last part.

"I-I'm sorry Bickslow, I didn't mean-" but he cut her off.

"No you're right Lucy" she raised her brown when he said her name "look if you don't like the mask I can take it off?" He offered, feeling hopeful.

"No! She cried waving her arms in the air, he flinched, so she didn't want to see his face, he felt despair creeping into his chest "not if you don't want to! I mean…" she sighed "I'd like it if you did, but I don't want to push you into something you don't want to do."

She could have smacked her forehead, feeling stupid and like she was digging herself into a hole and there was really no getting out of it now, she just hoped that she hadn't made him angry.

Bickslow smiled warmly at her, before reaching up and taking the damn thing off, it felt good to have the cool air touch his face and he leaned back for a minute reveling in it. "You didn't offend me if that's what you're thinking Cosplayer, but thanks." He gave her a wink when he looked back at her, his babies giggled floating around the compartment.

Lucy blushed "why are you thanking me?" She asked.

"Because," he shrugged "I get sick of people having me keep it on, it's nice to know someone doesn't mind it being off." He put the helmet down next to him, and Lucy reached over and plucked it from the seat, careful not to disturb Laxus.

"What are you doing?!" Bickslow asked her, slightly panicking, he felt like he was losing a piece of himself, but he tried desperately to smash that fear deep within him.

"I don't want you to wear it anymore," she replied stuffing it into her pack "I'm gonna hold onto it, until your used to having it off, and everyone can kiss it; if their uncomfortable with you not wearing it, they can just get used to it!" She said almost defiantly and he had to laugh at that one.

"Your something else Cosplayer" he grinned when she humphed and crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up to give him a nice view of her cleavage.

"My name is Lucy, not cosplayer, what's up with everyone giving me nicknames?" She sighed exasperatedly, relaxing her arms again and going back to playing with Laxus hair.

Bickslow shrugged "because your cute; and it's easy to give you nicknames" he said.

She blushed "well… everyone needs to stop" she muttered and he laughed again.

Laxus shifted on Lucy's lap so his face was pushed right up underneath her breasts and Bickslow snarled, the blonde had looked down at the male on her lap squeaking when she felt him shift and noticing where he was, but she looked up confused when Bickslow had made that deep sound in the back of his throat.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

He coughed and turned away staring out the window again, "yeah I'm fine." He replied in a gruff voice.

Laxus smirked and wrapped an arm around Blondie pulling her to him, this was great and there was nothing the Seith mage could do about it.

"Laxus?" Lucy whispered gently poking his head, "helloooo? Are you awake?" she leaned down to whisper in his ear and his heart stuttered. She had leaned so far down she hadn't realized she was cradling him really closely to her chest and her breath was tickling his ear giving him goosebumps, there was no fucking way he was letting her know he was awake, instead he grunted and gripped her tighter making another squeak come out of her and he almost had to stifle a laugh.

Bickslow tensed up, and when the train stopped moving indicating they were in clover town finally; he roughly kicked Laxus in the knee jerking the man out of his little game.

Laxus carefully maneuvered Lucy to the side and growled at Bickslow harshly, "what the hell was that for?" He snarled.

Lucy bit her lip and while the two men glared at each other she slipped out of the compartment and made her way off the train, whatever they were pissed at each other about, she was not a part of it. When she walked outside she immediately made her way to the mayor's house and hoped to focus on the mission, rather than the weird feeling blossoming in her chest.

Meanwhile back in the compartment Bickslow was snarling right back at Laxus "What? We were here, and your lazy ass wouldn't wake up!" He bit back.

Laxus grabbed him by the collar and Bickslow shoved him away from him, startling the man, he had never known either of them ever being mad at each other, that when he noticed.

"Where's your mask?" He asked the Seith mage dumbly.

"Bickslow crossed his arms over his chest and smugly replied "Lucy likes seeing my face, so she asked me to take it off." He smirked at the dragon slayer.

Laxus growled deep in his throat, "and?" he snapped.

"And... I think she likes me" Bickslow chuckled, still feeling smug.

"Yeah well, I was in her _lap_!" Laxus bit back.

Bickslow's lip curled and then he realized something, or someone was missing. "where'd cosplayer go?" He suddenly asked.

Laxus looked around but couldn't find her anywhere, then he noticed her scent drawing away from the compartment and he quickly followed it, with the Seith mage at his heels.

His babies were agitated 'Lucy!" they seemed sad and Bickslow was surprised they were saying something of their own will.

Laxus turned around quirking an eyebrow at him, but Bickslow shrugged. The dragon slayer continued to follow the celestial mages scent until the men finally made it to the mayor's house.

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* * *

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Lucy spoke to the mayor about what happened, some giant snake like creature with several heads was crawling out of some cave in the mountains and even though Blue Pegasus had tried to stop the menace from attacking the town; they couldn't defeat it because apparently they felt it was a celestial spirit.

"Are you sure?" she asked the mayor, it was odd to hear of a celestial spirit not only attacking people, but being in this world seemingly on its own.

The mayor nodded "It disappears, but on every full moon, like the one tonight… It reappears, there is a celestial key hanging around its neck, one of the members of our town's guild got a good look at it and its key handle is in the shape of the creatures' heads."

"This is strange" Lucy noted, she felt worried, and the feeling mirrored on her face.

The mayor wrung his hands. "Can you stop it?" He asked, sounding very desperate.

Lucy snapped out her thoughts "I don't know…" she answered honestly "I will try; definitely though, and I have some back up, though they're not here at the moment.." she ended bitterly, wondering if they were still fighting, she was worried about them though and looked toward the doors for a moment.

She looked back at the mayor then, when she heard him shuffling nervously, and she smiled warmly at him trying to ease his fears. "I'm gonna go to blue Pegasus, if my friends come here to find me, send them over there" she stood to shake his hand "we'll figure this out somehow; I won't leave you until I've exhausted all my options."

"Thank you Miss Heartfilia!" The mayor grasped her hand, shaking it wholeheartedly, she left with a wave and made her way to the Blue Pegasus guild.

Lucy slowed her brisk walk suddenly remembering who would be waiting at the guild, _Oh lord_ , she thought. Hibiki, Ren and Eve, the notorious, bad pick up line, wanna be playboys, that took way too much after Ichya, he was not a good ladies man and the three of his… students; were going down that path to being creepy weirdo's. Which was too bad, they were kind of cute, she mused over that thought as she continued to the guild finally coming up on the doors.

Master Bob was the one to greet her at the door "oh miss Lucyyyyyy! Is your team Natsu with you?" He asked sweetly, looking dazedly around for the two boys that usually escorted the young lady.

"No Master Bob, um Laxus and Bickslow are somewhere behind me though, they should be here soon." She smiled at the large… winged man.

"Ooooh!" he twirled around "those gorgeous hunks are coming? I can't wait to see them!" Lucy giggled behind her hand, poor Laxus, and poor Bickslow.

Before she could ask about the threat she heard a distinctive voice coming from atop the stairs "Is that you sweet Lucy?" Hibiki called down to her and suddenly she was surrounded by the three boys.

"Oh hi guys" she said shyly.

"My dear sweet Lucy, there's no need to be shy around us, we are your knights in shining armor of course," Hibiki winked and then bowed, the other two boys followed suit, Lucy couldn't figure out if she wanted to suppress a giggle or an eye roll.

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* * *

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Laxus followed Blondie's scent to mayor's house who was quick to point them in the direction of the guild. The two men groaned in frustration, "number one why did she have to leave us behind?" Laxus complained, muttering incoherently his next words, something with the word _number two_ and _Blondie_ thrown into the mix.

Bickslow had his arms crossed over his chest and his babies were hovering agitated in circles around him, "I'm not looking forward to greeting master bob" he grumbled.

Laxus paled at the thought, "what about those three playboys?" He snarled next, thinking about those three hovering around his mate.

Bickslow's face darkened, his own thoughts on level with Laxus "let's just hurry up and get there, get this over with." He grunted and they picked up their pace.

When they walked through the guild doors they were instantly blocked from looking for Lucy by Master Bob "hello boyyys!" He giggled wiggling his fingers at them, Bickslow gulped and Laxus looked pained "we're looking for Blondie" he spat out, trying to avoid master Bobs keen interest.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about her, the trimens are taking _very_ good care of her" he purred then giggled, Laxus and Bickslow both simultaneously snarled causing the master to jump, he looked at the two men more closely and frowned, _hmmmmm_ , he thought.

"They've taken young Lucy upstairs" he pointed, taking on a more serious tone.

He noticed the men barely registered him as they shoved past and barreled up the stairs. They saw Lucy looking bored with the trimens antics, as they fawned over her and had sat her down on some throne like chair; with a table that had small dinner set on it.

"What would like Miss Lucy?" Hibiki asked.

"Do you need anything?" Ren asked as well.

"You are incredibly beautiful" Hibiki commented.

"I love your hair" Eve was holding her hair in his hands, she had let it grow out to her waist and stopped sporting the side ponytail since they had come back from Tenrou, but now she was regretting it being so long, _I should have cut it short_. She thought dryly, trying to wave Eve's hands off of her.

"No I don't need anything, thank you, thank you" she replied absently, until she finally noticed her two companions and sighed in relief "Laxus, Bickslow!" She pleaded with them silently to rescue her.

Bickslow was on one side and Laxus on the other in an instant, and while the Seith mage held up Hibiki in one hand by his collar Laxus had the two by theirs.

"Would you get off our teammate?!' Laxus roared, Bickslow rattled Hibiki for good measure before dumping him on the ground with a dazed look on his face.

Laxus threw the other two into the wall, dusting his hands off he turned to Lucy but she disappeared again, "where the fuck did she run off to now?" Bickslow was way ahead of him and was following Blondie closely, smirking back at Laxus who growled possessively and stalked after the two, shoving Bickslow out of the way.

Master Bob watched the two men as they shoved each other around Lucy; who meanwhile was ignoring their behavior as best as she could. She smiled at the Headmaster "I wanted to talk to you about the job before I got held up" she grinned sheepishly.

She heard someone whimpering and turned to see Hibiki had crawled to the edge of the stairs and was holding his hand out to her and tears were running down his face, she blanched and quickly turned away from him, blushing from embarrassment.

Laxus and Bickslow stopped fighting long enough to glare at the guy, and Laxus shocked him for good measure, Master Bob was still watching them curiously.

"Well My dear Lucy," he turned to her then "it appears to us to be a celestial spirit, and Hibiki tried doing research on it but came up short, all he knows is the Hydra is indeed a constellation, but there are no records of there being a key."

Lucy frowned "I've never heard of it either honestly, are you sure it's a celestial spirit?"

He shook his head," no we're not sure, when we entered the cave it appears in… before it comes out to destroy things of course, we did find a key suspended over what seems to be an altar, and we figured a celestial mage would not only have the most knowledge on how to defeat this thing but would probably benefit from the reward."

Lucy nodded her head, someone wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she turned to see that someone was a recovered Hibiki, Ren and Eve right behind him." I can give you the information I dug up, sweet Lucy, somewhere… private?" He said smoothly.

She brushed his arm off and Laxus shocked him again, while Bickslow's babies pounded into Eve and Ren, knocking them unconscious.

"We'll go check it out Master Bob" she grinned at him "and try to figure it out, you guys ready?" She asked turning to her two companions.

Laxus looked up from glaring viciously at Hibiki and Bickslow was just staring at her, making her feel nervous suddenly. Her heart rate quickened seeing the both of them, standing there arms crossed and looking very stern and slightly over protective and attractive, she blushed again, _they're not being overprotective, it's your imagination_ , she scolded herself.

Laxus picked up on her heart beat change and frowned, not sure if it had been meant for him or Bickslow, he twitched thinking about it.

"Of course, we'll be waiting for your return" Master Bob said from behind her.

"Right…" Lucy said slowly, she turned back around and with another wave and smile she made her way to the door to exit the guild.

Master Bob watched the two men flank the poor girl still glaring at each other, for some reason something felt strange about the situation, and a really high energy was in the air surrounding the three.

He mused over it thoughtfully as the doors closed off his view of them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

It wasn't that far of a hike to get to the cave that the Hydra supposedly came out of. Lucy and her temporary team stood at the entrance as she studied it.

There wasn't anything particularly special about this place, no markings, no artifacts, and no special jewels crystals, anything… It was just an ordinary cave with an extraordinary background.

 _That's weird_ she thought, normally you know… when you came across something that was supposed to be legendary… legendary architecture or something special marked the area. From experience ordinary was good, ordinary didn't sport horrendous and destructive things as far as she was concerned; and honestly this is what bothered her the most.

Loke popped out of nowhere causing the two men flanking her to tense up, "princess" he bowed and took her hand in his usual manner ready to kiss the back of her palm, but two low growls kept him from doing it.

Lucy usually ignored his antics and this time was no different, so she hadn't noticed his sudden change in behavior. The lion looked up to see none other than Laxus and Bickslow standing over his celestial mage, looking as if they were going to tackle him at any moment and this worried him, he silently called Virgo.

"Hime" Virgo bowed, and then turned to Leo, "yes brother?" She asked him.

Loke stood up straighter and as slowly as possible, he could feel that _off_ energy Master Bob had felt. Lucy had finally noticed what was going on and turned to face Virgo "hey Virgo what are you doing here?" She asked the pink haired maiden obliviously.

Virgo bowed "Brother summoned me" she answered.

Lucy faced her lion "Loke?" She questioned.

He looked enraged "Princess, why are _they_ here; and where is team Natsu?" He almost demanded.

Lucy frowned looking over her shoulder, Bickslow and Laxus looked ready to kill and she could feel the tension in the air, almost palpable. She gulped and turned back to face Loke, ready to do damage control over his blatant insult. "I asked them to come" she told him almost sternly.

"But why?" He asked, he sounded alarmed and it hadn't escaped her notice but she misinterpreted it.

"Loke" she warned "I asked them because I needed a mission where I wouldn't lose rent money due to team Natsu's destructiveness, who I ask to come with me is none of your business" she poked her lion in the chest, pushing him back slightly. Bickslow and Laxus looked mighty pleased with this, Virgo watched them carefully.

Loke looked stricken "princess!" he wailed, it sounded almost like a pout.

"Don't princess me! Apologize!" she pointed at her two companions and Loke begrudgingly bowed in their direction

"Forgive Laxus… Bickslow… I didn't mean to insult" he said with as much grace as he could muster.

When Lucy was satisfied she turned back to the cave "hey Loke have you ever heard of the Hydra constellation?" She asked him.

Loke's hair stood on end "yes!" he spat sharply "what does _he_ have to do with this mission?" He asked her.

Lucy frowned and turned to face him "I don't know how he's getting to Earthland without being summoned but he is and he's terrorizing the town… unless someone's summoning him" she said thoughtfully "I suppose that's a more plausible explanation." She was pondering more to herself than her spirit, a finger tapping her chin.

Loke scoffed "There's no way anyone is powerful enough to summon him and on top of that, his key should be lost." He growled out.

"Well it's not" Lucy informed him "members of blue Pegasus claim to have seen his key hanging around his neck."

"H-how?" He stuttered, completely baffled and very frightened, his fingers twitched to grab Lucy's arm and drag her away from this place.

"I don't know that's why I'm here" she told him; Loke and Virgo faced each other then, Virgo's usual stoic expression was laced with same fear mirrored on Loke.

"Hime" Virgo said suddenly, she reached out and took Lucy's hand in her own "maybe we should leave this place." She tugged gently on Lucy to get her attention.

Lucy spun to face her "what's going on?" she asked them, she didn't like the look of worry on her friends faces.

Loke shook his head "its better you not find out Princess, but you shouldn't get tangled up in this." He told her.

Lucy shook her head; she couldn't let the citizens of Clover Town down, especially if Blue Pegasus was so desperate for Fairy Tail's help like this. "I'm going to help them Loke" she told him firmly, panic crossed the celestial spirits faces as they gave each other a look.

Laxus and Bickslow had silently watched the exchange both feeling unease creeping up on them, if the spirits were acting this way then there must be something wrong. Laxus was the first to step forward and speak "maybe he's right blondie, maybe we should-" but he was cut off when a loud roaring hiss echoed from the belly of the cave and out came slithering a large greyish creature with seven heads.

It had rows of teeth that seemed to almost move on their own when it opened its mouth wide and let out another hissing roar, long blue snake like tongue's slithered from their lips, it's claws looked like black glass and the scales on it's body looked almost wrinkled.

It padded across the ground toward the group and what Lucy presumed was the leader of the heads, the middle head smiled wide like a Cheshire cat.

The group reeled backward in shock, Virgo and Loke took defensive positions around Lucy and Laxus and Bickslow leaped toward the creature when it seemed to go right for their beloved mate.

Lucy leaped to the side out of pure instinct and dove under the hydra's legs as it stomped the ground around the celestial mage, making the earth rumble beneath her.

"Lucy!" She heard Bickslow scream for her, she could see green and yellow blasts coming from the two men's magical force, she crawled her way under the creature intent on getting to the cave.

 _I've got to figure this out_ , she thought; _maybe the unknown key can somehow stop this thing_.

"Where is Andromeda?!" She heard the thing hiss, one of the heads peered under its own belly spying Lucy who had gotten up and raced for the cave, it hissed and pounded after her.

"You leave her alone!" Loke growled, she heard a violent bellow that came from none other than Virgo and that made Lucy choke on her fear, if Virgo was upset or angry then there was cause for alarm. Her feet pulverized the earth as she raced to a small light in the back of the cave, hoping desperately that it was something that could help them, and not cause more trouble instead.

"Lucy where are you?" She heard her lion calling but she ignored him, she had found the key suspended in midair, it was a gorgeous bright white gold, with two large pink feathers in pink sapphire, sprouting from either side.

"Woah!" She skid to a stop and stood there breathlessly, the detail was exquisite tiny grooves and lines in curly que's wrapped around the key, engraved in it, on the handle aside from the tiny pink wings was what looked like a real eight pointed star floating on it's own just above the cradle of the wings. She heard the monster rumble behind her and turned to see the Hydra had followed her in.

"Lucy run! We got this!" Laxus called out, she looked at the Hydra's heads, six of them were keeping her friends at bay snapping at them if they tried to get too close, Laxus kept attempting to shock two of them, he had even grabbed one of the heads that was attacking him and tried to wrangle it but to no avail it swung free and left the man breathless.

Bickslow was using his babies to distract the other two heads that held him at bay but no matter what he did nothing seemed to work, the Hydra had picked up Virgo with its claws so she couldn't tunnel her way to Lucy, and it was crushing her in its fist, Loke was having no such luck either, but the seventh head was staring straight at her.

"Go ahead Andromeda, take the key." It hissed menacingly.

"Lucy do _not_ touch that key!" Loke roared at her in a commanding tone.

She turned to face the head speaking to her "why should I?" she asked, she was shaking in fear and she tried to stand straighter so it wouldn't see, but it chuckled at her attempts to hide her fright, even though it could smell it.

"It will make you strong enough to defeat me!" It hissed again.

"Liar." She said coldly.

"It will" it closed its eyes for a brief moment before opening them again "if you want to save your friends you will take that key and slay me!" It hissed, the other heads grabbed her friends and roughly shoved them into the cave walls; one had Loke's upper body half way in its mouth, so he couldn't speak.

Lucy looked on in horror as her friend flailed around in an attempt to free himself. "Let him go!" She screeched.

"Take the key Andromeda" The boss head threatened.

"My name is not Andromeda!" She bellowed defiantly, she then turned around and reached for the key.

"Hime don't!" She heard Virgo cry and she hesitated.

"Do it!" It hissed and she heard her spirit cry from being crushed further in its claws.

"Blondie listen to your spirits- fuck!" Laxus shouted to her but was crushed further into the wall two of the Hydra's heads had him pinned simultaneously, the same fate was held for Bickslow.

"Lucy..." Bickslow sounded pained trying to get her attention, but then he was suddenly swallowed like Loke had been.

Lucy had turned to them, horror painted her face as she stared at each one of her friends, she took one look at the leader head before she turned back to face the key, "Hime!" Virgo cried, before she screamed in pain, Lucy cringed, she couldn't look at her, she knew she would take the key for her friends, but what made her hesitate was knowing the idea of consequences in doing so and she was preparing herself for them.

Finally she plucked the thing from the air and the hydra let out a triumphant hiss watching as a light burst from the blonde and she screamed.

God was it painful, it burned her skin, it felt like a thousand metallic ants were nipping at her flesh and burrowing holes in it. Her heart felt like it was going to burst and she let out a strangled cry. The celestial mage felt weightless, she desperately felt for the ground beneath her to hold onto but she realized the weightless feeling was her really floating in the air.

Another strangled cry broke from her throat and she distantly heard something in the background slam downward and a roar that shook her eardrums.

Laxus and Bickslow had managed to break free the minute they heard her in pain, the lightning dragon slayer roared at the beast even though it barely phased it, Bickslow shot his baryon formation at but it shook off the blast and hissed at them.

Both men were struggling to get to Lucy, Virgo managed to finally break free by tunneling into the ground after the creature was distracted long enough and she pulled Loke out of its mouth.

"I'm about to be drawn back into the spirit world, Virgo… watch. .. Lucy" he whispered and then the lion shimmered out of Earthland.

Virgo tunneled making her way to Lucy as quickly as possible, she was finally there jumping in front of her the pink haired maiden took her mistresses hand and held onto it tightly, "it hurts Virgo!" Lucy sputtered out through the pain lancing through her bloodstream, "please…" She scratched at her throat trying to get rid of the choking sensation she was feeling "please help!" Another strangled cry broke free and finally as if it never happened the power and energy sapped back into her leaving the cave quiet.

The hydra quit fighting to watch the girl with keen interest "what the hell?" Laxus spat, he looked over toward Lucy.

Bickslow stood up, shaken from all the fighting, he was panting but made his way over to her, "Lucy…" he called to her tentatively "come here." He commanded, reaching a hand out to her, but she couldn't move, she couldn't turn to face him.

Instead Lucy looked down at her hands, her fingers were curled like claws and she was breathing heavily, "I can still feel it Virgo" she whispered to the pink haired maiden "It's vibrating in my skin."

"Hime?" The celestial spirit frowned; she looked up at Laxus and Bickslow… who was still reaching out to her… not knowing what to do.

The hydra shot forward to the spirit, ready to strike but something caught it around the neck and yanked it backward into the ground.

In one smooth motion and lightning fast reflexes, Lucy held the necklace with his key in her hand, it swung idly as she stood there staring at the monster. Wings that had feathers that looked like pink crystals, protruded from her back. Her hair was still gold but looked like every strand was crystalized, her skin seemed almost paler for some reason, like it took after the moon, but her eyes were still the same, those same soft chocolate brown orbs.

Her three companions stared in shock and awe, they couldn't take their eyes off the shimmering that float in the air around her every time she made a movement.

She held the key up by the handle; the Hydra hissed "no! They promised me!"

But she didn't care for his words, "FORCE GATE CLOSE!" she bellowed, swinging her arm down violently. A crack in the air formed of white light, the creature tried to grab the surface but it couldn't escape it, he was being pulled in, desperately one of the heads grabbed for Virgo and began to drag the maiden with it.

"No!" Lucy let out a harsh scream and dove for her friend; she caught her around the waist and sent a powerful white ball of light at the creature, out of pure instinct.

It howled as it slid back to wherever it came from and the crack closed up leaving nothing behind, but a broken key.

Lucy was still holding Virgo tightly as she tried to catch her breath, the power that unfurled was drawn back in, the wings disappearing and she felt dizzy after all the commotion. The two men were dumbfounded by the turn of events and just stood there for a moment, but the trance they were in broke when they heard their beloved suddenly collapse on the ground, Virgo barely there in time to catch her before her head hit the rock.

"Lucy!" They both cried out, Laxus was quickly on her left side, Bickslow slid to her right, and Virgo herself got up backing away a couple steps, watching the exchange with her now usual stoic expression back in place.

Lucy's hair hung like limp gold and she had a few scratch marks but otherwise everything seemed fine, except Bickslow could see her soul starting to flicker and panic rose in his throat along with bile when he realized what was happening, how much power she had used up sending the thing back, "no, no, no!" He screamed desperately trying to rip her away from Laxus

The blonde snarled "what?!" He bellowed at him.

"She slipping!" Bickslow cried, trying to tug her away once more.

Laxus hold on her was tighter as he tried to yank her back to him, and the exchange was exasperating Virgo, her stoic expression was slipping again.

"If Hime is in trouble, what can be done for her?" She asked Bickslow, stepping in.

He looked down at Lucy "I can link my soul to hers; we're soulmates so it'll help her hold on long enough for us to get her to Wendy." He explained, it was the only time he could ever do something like that, tempt fate in such a way.

"There is no _fucking_ way you're doing that!" Laxus barked.

Bickslow's glare was fierce, "it's none of your damn business Laxus, and she belongs with me!" He shouted back.

"The hell she does, she's my dragon mate, so she _can't_ be your soulmate!"

"She is!"

Virgo was starting to get a headache and she could see princess slipping ever so slightly, "enough!" She cut in coldly, using her hands she shoved the two men off of her mistress, and then she turned to Bickslow. "Do as you must, anything to keep her here."

Bickslow nodded a grim look on his face, Laxus snarled and tried to leap at him, but Virgo was surprisingly strong and kept him at bay.

The Seith mage leaned over Lucy and gently cradling her in his arms, opened his soul sight and began linking his soul to hers, using the process of soul mating to keep her there, he didn't want to think about the consequences if she did die, after they were linked, it wouldn't be pretty.

Laxus felt something tugging on his heart and he panicked, shoving Virgo out of the way with every ounce of force he had he grabbed blondie's wrist and quickly sank his teeth into her delicate skin.

Both men linked themselves to her, both men became her mate, and she theirs. When it was done, there was an eerie silence in the room as they processed what just happened.

"You didn't" Bickslow said in a low dangerous voice.

"I did" Laxus answered back, challenging him.

They stared at each other, wanting to strangle the other but not wanting to put their mate in danger. Virgo stepped in "Take Hime to the infirmary." She said forcefully, Bickslow frowned and then nodded, in one swift motion he picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the cave, Laxus dogging his heels.

"You should give her to me, to carry." He said without looking at his friend, he was watching his blondie closely.

"She. Doesn't. Belong. With. You." Bickslow bit out, through clenched teeth.

"Yes. She does." Laxus snapped back.

Virgo began to go back to the spirit world, she had finally managed to fix the emotions trailing across her face, so she stared blankly at them, but her thoughts were running wild, Hime was going to have a hard time keeping those two in line.

Brother would _not_ like this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

"LUCY'S GONE!" Natsu bellowed slamming the guild hall doors open, he'd been gone fishing for a couple days and it was due time for a job so Lucy could pay her rent, but when he went looking for the blonde she was nowhere to be found and her scent was fading anywhere he went to find her.

The first place he had looked was the guild of course but at that point he hadn't even been worried when she wasn't there, it wasn't until he looked quite literally _everywhere_ that he realized her absence.

"What do you mean she's gone?!" Erza demanded standing, reequipping a sword in her hand, Grey was up from his seat too and Juvia who was hiding behind a column was distraught over his distress over 'love rival's' disappearance.

"I mean I can't find her anywhere!" Natsu yelled waving his arms around in the air.

"What about her apartment, are you sure she's just not asleep in her bed?" Grey asked almost lazily, his arms folded across his chest, flame brain was usually overzealous when it came to everything, but even he knew deep down that Natsu knew what he was talking about.

"Seriously ice princess, don't you think I haven't looked?!" Natsu growled, his fist catching fire, Grey grit his teeth, but before either of them could start another brawl Erza pushed them away from each other.

"Enough!" She said forcefully but low, both boys blanched and backed away as quickly as possible.

"Guys!" They heard Mira call from behind them, her head was cocked to the side, arms behind her back and a smile plastered onto her pale face. "Lucy's gone on a mission with Laxus!" She said cheerfully "oh! And Bickslow!" She squealed, she remembered the strange exchange with the two boys and after mulling it over… with the master of course… they both had decided a fun love triangle was in order for their matchmaking ways.

Both had even taken bets on who would win, Master of course bet on his grandson and swooned over grand-babies, while Mira being the more optimistic one picked Bickslow and swooned over god-children.

"WHAT?!" Team Natsu bellowed loud enough to shake the guild, everyone clung to their ears in pain. Mira was unfazed however as her smile was still on her face as serene as ever and Makarov chuckled from the second floor railing before taking a sip of his beer.

"Why would she go on a mission without us?" Erza exclaimed heartbroken.

"What the heck did she go with Laxus and Bickslow of all people?" Grey demanded.

"Laxus! I wonder if he'll fight me!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air, clearly not worried about his friend with the two males.

"It's Laxus flame brain!" Grey shouted "… and Bickslow, the biggest pervert in the guild, with the man whore? Ring any bells?!" He smacked Natsu upside the head, and before Natsu could retaliate Erza punched him knocking him out.

"I agree with Grey" she turned to Mira with a deadly eye "How could you send Lucy off with two men with most notorious reputations in the whole guild?" She shouted, "Lucy's… she innocent!" Her passionate speech left her red in the face with anger, and Grey's fists were clenched, when Natsu sat up from Erza's punch he rubbed his head but he conceded the two were probably right.

"Let's go get her!" He shouted leaping up as if he hadn't been on the ground a moment before.

"Yes!" Erza proclaimed "Mira, where were they headed!"

They weren't bothered by the dark energy Mira was giving off at the team that stood before her! Ready to break up her precious love triangle! And ruin her matchmaking! And her babies! And her being a God mother! Damnit! She was gonna get her way! And team Natsu was _not_ going to stop her!

Before she could unleash her Satan soul, Makarov intervened much for Team Natsu's sake because he could most certainly sense where this was going.

"I'm sorry Erza, but the details of the job are classified as it is Lucy and her temporary team that have gone on it, if you interfere it could cause problems for them and it is against protocol after all." He said in a wise voice, he had jumped down below and stood on the bar facing Team Natsu's flabbergasted faces, he could almost chuckle at the sight of them gaping like fish, instead he took another serene sip of his beer.

"It's best you go back to what you were doing and just wait for Lucy, Laxus and Bickslow to get back." He waved them off before turning around and in one light leap he was back on the second floor railing, watching over his brats as usual.

Erza hung her head in between Natsu and Grey protesting getting Mira all riled up again and once more before the bar maid could unleash her satan soul she grabbed the two by their collar and dragged them back to the table they were previously sitting at.

"Master is right of course," Erza told them "sit" she commanded when they went to yell at her, they complied quickly looking like two chastised children.

"Erza!" Natsu tried one more time, but she silenced him with a swipe of her hand

"Enough Natsu, Lucy will be back soon and if either of those two hurt her in anyway…" she said darkly "they will pay." She promised.

.

* * *

.

Laxus and Bickslow boarded the first train back to Magnolia, Bickslow was still holding onto his Blondie and it was irritating the dragon slayer, he wanted to do nothing short of ripping her from his arms, but she was dying and he wasn't going to hurt her what-so-ever despite his burning rage.

When he saw the blonde shiver he immediately took off his coat and draped it over the two, Bickslow glared up at him and Laxus lip curled back in a small growl.

"I could have given her my coat; she is my soulmate after all." Bickslow bit out.

"But then you'd have to let her go, wouldn't you?" Laxus smirked "go ahead, giver her your coat" he smugly reached out his arms as if Bickslow would hand her over any minute, his patience for the man was wearing thin.

Bickslow twitched "like hell!" He said harshly holding her tighter, the coat smelled like Laxus and he hated that, that Lucy smelled the dragon slayer in her sleep, it drove a knife in his heart.

"Can't you take the mark off her?" He asked harshly but he knew it was dumb question; he just wanted to make a jab at the blonde.

"Can't you unbind your soul from her?" Laxus retorted.

Bickslow had to suppress a harsh laugh "I can't" he snapped "her soul is bound to mine, if I try ripping it apart we'll both die." He told him.

"Yeah? Well the only way to break the mate bond is for one of us to die," Laxus leaned back in his seat carefully watching the gold hair that he could see spilling over the side of Bickslow's arm, he was glad he had good hearing so he could hear her breaths, ragged, but still there. "If one of us dies, the other will be ridden with grief for the rest of their lives, usually the living mate will die shortly after." He looked up at Bickslow then.

The two men gave each other hard stares; they froze when they heard her whimper in her sleep, the Seith mage unconsciously pulled her tighter to him.

Laxus grit his teeth and shoved himself further back into the seat, it was killing him not to be able to hold her, to stroke her hair the way Bickslow was doing and mutter softly to his mate, the pain of it was twisting in his gut.

Bickslow on the other hand had finally ignored his friend across the seat from him and was gently playing with Lucy's hair; reveling at how soft it was, watching the rise and fall of her chest "shhh, baby we're almost there." He whispered and he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Damnit!" Laxus stood up abruptly raking a hand through his hair, "if you do that again…" he warned.

A flash of light quickly illuminated the compartment and suddenly Loke was there with a hard look on his face, he took of his glasses which was rare for him and set them in a pocket on the inside of his suit jacket.

"I would have sent Virgo here, seeing as I think it's dangerous for me to be" He said as casually as possible.

"Your damn right it is" Laxus growled and Bickslow silently agreed, sending the guy daggers with his eyes.

"Yes, well she was sick of dealing with you two, so she sent me instead." The lion replied darkly, he folded his arms across his chest sparing a quick glance toward his master to see if she was alright, before he turned back to the two men.

"You two need to stop this bullshit and take care of the problem at hand!" He snapped his fingers at them in rage, "Lucy is dying and you're bickering like little children, focus on her and then go back to your stupid jealousy issues.

Laxus looked away from Loke, he knew the lion was right, Lucy was in deep shit and he was cared but he needed to focus on _her_ right now, he could deal with Bickslow later.

The Seith mage was pretty much on the same page as Laxus, his thoughts racing in panic as he clutched her even tighter issuing a sigh from the petite blonde.

The lightning dragon slayer faced him sharply at the noise, he knelt down where Lucy's head was and he put his hand on her hair, closing his eyes at the contact. He all but purred in satisfaction, it was the first time he'd been able to touch his mate since he'd marked her.

Bickslow's teeth grit in frustration, he wanted to strangle Laxus but he kept Loke's words in mind as he calmed himself down and focused on Lucy's breathing, opening his figure eyes to see her soul, see that it was still dim, dimmer than before, but it was still entwined with his, none of the bonds broken so she would be okay… hopefully.

It seemed to take ages to get to their hometown; eventually Loke had gone back to the spirit world, assured they were done with the fighting, for now at least. Laxus had communicated with his grandfather about Lucy's injuries and to have Wendy waiting on stand-by, he wasn't going to tell him about their situation… yet though, because they hadn't even told Lucy for goodness sakes,

When they finally reached Magnolia Bickslow practically barreled off the train ready to hop on his babies' and fly to the guild with her but Laxus gripped his shoulder jerking him back.

"What the hell Laxus?" Bickslow snapped, he jerked right back out of the man's grasp.

"Give her to me, don't argue, I can get her there faster and you know it." Laxus held out his hands, he would take her by force this time if necessary; there really was no time to argue.

He didn't have to though, the Seith mage knew he was right and he passed her off to him, feeling that knife twist further, he watched as Laxus built lightning around his form and disappeared before Bickslow's eyes, a boom resounding in his place. He wasted no time though and hopped on his babies, flying him to the guild.

Laxus burst through the doors, it was early morning so not many people were there, thankfully her team wasn't one of them, they had decided to go on a job it seemed and would be back A.S.A.P after hearing about the celestial mage.

The lightning dragon slayer barely glanced at anybody as he raced to the infirmary, with Wendy already waiting at the side of a bed Mira had prepared for Lucy, the takeover mage's hands were wringing a small towel, "is she going to be okay?" She whispered.

The master looked at – his possible future grand-daughter in law – with worried eyes, pacing back and forth the minute Laxus set her down for Wendy to begin working.

"There's some internal damage, but…" Wendy trailed off

"But what?" Laxus demanded sharply, causing the little girl to flinch.

"I don't know, it seems like her body is fighting with something, a strange magic I've never felt before." Wendy revealed she looked up at Laxus worriedly; he didn't have much time to process it before Bickslow bust into the rooms, his babies trailing after him.

Wendy noticed him tense so she went back to doing her best at healing Lucy but nothing was coming of it.

"How is she?" Bickslow asked desperately, he knelt down on the opposite side of the bed from Wendy, not so subtly shoving Laxus out of the way, or not considering he was a big guy and was built like a rock.

The Seith mage grasped Lucy's hand and Laxus let out a frustrated sound before yanking his friend to his feet "get off her, Wendy's healing her!" the lightning slayer barked, he had Bickslow by the collar but he was having none of it, he pushed Laxus away from him and glared at him.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Bickslow replied angrily, shoving Laxus again.

The dragon slayer crossed his arms over his chest and scowled deeply "I thought I was your leader" It wasn't a question; Freed and Evergreen had heard the two were back and were now standing in the doorway watching in shock.

"Not this time!" Bickslow shouted "not with this!" The two tensed up ready to fight.

Everyone was stunned. One: it took a few seconds to process that Bickslow had his mask off and in the seriousness of the situation his babies hadn't uttered a single word which was weird. Two: Laxus and Bickslow were fighting, which was weird. And Three: They were both also acting strangely toward Lucy.

Mira and Makarov exchanged confused but knowing looks and were about to start asking questions when the pink haired celestial spirit popped in the room.

She sighed as if she were bored and addressed the two "since brother doesn't want to induce any more wrath from you two, he has requested me to take his place, and since Princess is not awake to put you two in line, may I remind you she is still in danger." She chastised the two, but it seemed to work, their tension didn't leave their bodies but it lessened.

"What is going on here?" Freed was the first one to ask, breaking through the shock of it all. Him and Evergreen had finally stepped into the room.

"Yes we would all like to know" The guild Master demanded.

When the two men didn't answer Virgo decided to step in… again. "Hime is mated to these two it seems" she nodded her head toward the edgy figures behind her; she had turned to face Makarov. "Bickslow is Princesses soulmate and…"

"Laxus is her dragon mate" Leo finished popping out on his own accord as well, everyone could see from the corners of their eyes Laxus and Bickslow tense further than before.

"Wait, what?" Mira practically shouted, the rest of the room's jaws were on the floor by this point and she was the only one forming some kind of coherent thought.

Makarov sputtered "H-how? T-this can't be right, not right at all!"

"Your damn right it isn't" Bickslow said coldly, "Laxus has no right" he glared at his team leader "he's technically not even supposed to be a dragon." He pointed out, knowing full well the weight of his insult, everyone gasped.

Next thing anyone knew Bickslow was through a wall and on the floor, he sat up rubbing his jaw and leaped at his friend.

Surprisingly they both threw punches instead of using their magic, and Freed had to put runes around the two to keep them from going at each other any further.

"Can you two just…" Virgo rubbed her temples, this was getting to be too much, instead she decided to walk quietly over to her mistress; she sat down next to Wendy and held Lucy's hand "Lucy wouldn't appreciate this you know." Loke commented, Laxus and Bickslow ignored him.

"She'd be upset if, and I mean if…. she found out you two were fighting, and she'd think she was the cause of the problem, and knowing Lucy she'd leave to hope it would fix things with her not being in the picture, you'd cut her deeply." He adjusted his glasses again.

The tightness in the two men's shoulders relaxed with much effort on their part, finally and the air wasn't as thick with such pressure. 'We'll deal with this later." Laxus said quietly, Bickslow simply nodded and Freed very distraught over the situation released the runes, he turned to scold Bickslow then but Evergreen clamped a hand over his mouth

"If you know what's good for you, you will drop it" she muttered, Bickslow glared at him knowing exactly what the rune mage was going to do.

Porlyusica decided it was a fine time to waltz through the doors muttering about stinking humans she stopped long enough to make a cursory glance around the room with squinted eyes before yelling at everyone.

"OUT! EVERYONE OUT!" She demanded, literally kicking people. Wendy Laxus and Bickslow were the only ones left, she glared at them but they met her glare with arms folded and scowls set on their faces.

"You'd have to move heaven and earth to get us to leave this room old woman!" Laxus deep voice rumbled, he and the old witch were in a staring contest before Virgo's cough interrupted them.

"Did you hear me?" Porlyusica demanded from the spirit ignoring the dragon slayer in a wise decision. The pink haired spirit gave her the blankest expression before disappearing in the spirit world.

"Lett's get to work" Porlyusica told Wendy pulling herbs out of a bag, pointedly disregarding the males behind her who were practically standing guard over the girl.

 _Stinking humans._

 _._

* * *

 _._

Team Natsu had finally made it back to Magnolia racing down the streets to the guild and bursting through the doors, "is she alright?!" Erza called out to Mira who turned absently in her direction.

"Huh? Oh! Yes, but I wouldn't go in there!" She called watching the team in dismay as they ignored her.

The minute Natsu saw Laxus and Bickslow he immediately raced over and started screaming at them. "What did you do to her?!" He bellowed, Gray and Erza were right behind him and Happy had flown in to land on Natsu's head.

A sword came out of nowhere and pressed itself against Laxus throat who scoffed at her threat, while Bickslow and Gray had locked hands and were pushing at each other.

Natsu had slipped past everyone and went to kneel down next to Lucy to take her hand when suddenly he was ripped away from her and thrown against the wall, and Erza was left standing in shock when Laxus had went from one second standing in front of her; to the next second throwing her teammate away from her friend.

"How dare you!" She seethed, Bickslow was standing in front of the blonde protectively having knocked Gray backward and taking his place next to her.

Erza raced over to pound the two to oblivion when Porlyusica stepped in "that's it!" She screeched "Out! I WANT EVERYONE OUT!" She demanded.

She had effectively chased Natsu and Gray out but Erza, Laxus and Bickslow were still standing in the room ignoring her outrage. Wendy was actively ignoring the tense situation by concentrating on the task at hand; she wanted nothing more than to slink out of the room then.

"I told you old hag, we ain't going anywhere!" Laxus snapped, Bickslow crossed his arms and nodded his silent affirmation.

Erza looked between the two, "what is Lucy to you two?" She demanded "She is not your teammate!" Her sword had since then been put away but she was suddenly itching to reequip it again.

"None of your damn business, Scarlet!" Laxus turned to her, his lip curling back in a sneer.

"Step away from her at once, or I will be forced to remove you two" Erza took a step forward threateningly.

The two men went after her then, but before the situation could get any worse all of them were stopped midway when they hit runes.

"What the hell?" Bickslow shouted, the others followed suit but they couldn't be heard, that's when Freed walked in with the master.

"I had Freed put them to activate when I gave the go ahead" He told them "you can hear me, but we can't hear you so listen up!" They could see out in the hallway Natsu and Grey sitting on the floor cross legged, silently bickering with one another which was unusual for them, both leaned up against the wall.

"Erza they will not… or rather cannot leave Lucy's side." Master turned to the red head first. "Why?" he saw her mouth, "because Laxus and Bickslow are both Lucy's mate."

The look on Team Natsu's face was priceless, soon all three of them were banging against their barriers and streaming out silent curses which Freed and the Master had totally expected, and Laxus and Bickslow were both looking mightily pleased while still somehow managing to glare at each other.

The silence in the room while Master waited for them to calm down was palpable, Freed looked extremely nervous and Porlyusica was about to scream in frustration over there being so many people crowded in there, but she wasn't going to interfere. For once she understood the gravity of the situation and kept her mouth shut.

Erza had calmed down enough to begin talking again, but the only word mouthed was "how?" Master nodded "it seems Bickslow and Lucy are _soul_ mated, while Laxus and Lucy are _dragon_ mated" he informed her, he could see form the corner of his eye Natsu fling out another flurry of curses, this time completely and utterly directed at the lightning dragon slayer.

Both men had since then ignored the conversation instead leaning into the rune barriers side that was closest to Lucy and intently staring down at her.

"Whatever may come of this Erza, you and Team Natsu will have to accept the circumstances" Master chastised "Lucy does not know from what Laxus and Bickslow have explained" he thought it best not to bring up that she was unconscious during the ordeal but he could tell from all their faces and the darkening anger, that he let too much slip and they were wondering just _why_ and _how_ Lucy didn't know what they did to her, they were feeling very murderous.

"I'm not going to let any of you out until you all calm down, and if you start another fight I will drag all of you as far away from the infirmary as possible and keep you locked away in runes." Makarov warned.

Laxus and Bickslow turned sharply and glared at the old man who gulped under their piercing gazes, he had never felt like looks could kill in his life before now.

"Well Team Natsu anyway, you two will be pulled out into the hallway" he grumbled.

Erza was silently standing there arms crossed over her chest and she was giving a death glare rivaling the two men as she looked at them and Natsu and Grey were back and forth fighting against the runes and fighting each other.

The Master shook his head, sighing "come along Freed, we'll leave Porlyusica and Wendy to work," he called over his shoulder at everyone as he walked out of the room "we'll be back to see if you guys are calm enough to be let out soon." He told them and with that the pair left the infirmary.

.

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* * *

 **CelticHeart13 lol I'm now going to dub this LaLuBix in the summary XD and thanks to Apriiil for recommending this!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

 **Iv'e been writing little by little, and will keep doing that until the holidays are over lol I know everyone's been waiting for this story's update, we got birthday's events, parties, and the holiday days themselves so it's gonna be busy. I know it seems like life is always dragging me away from this but I think when January comes around and everyone's too broke to do anything including us; I'll have oodles of time to sit down and keep these two stories going :)**

Lucy was awake, and there were bright lights surrounding her which she assumed was either the light from the window; or the lights in the room. She pulled the thin sheet over her head wondering why she wasn't in her bed and she felt a freak out creeping up her throat but her exhaustion pushed it back down and she moaned, she did not want to get up.

Turning over she completely missed that everyone in the room was staring intently down at her, still trapped in runes because all of them were still in murderous moods.

She certainly didn't hear Natsu and Grey banging on their rune walls while the other three rolled their eyes at their stupidity; but never-the-less the two boys continued, hoping somehow she would notice.

She didn't, she curled up even further under the blanket and shivered; it was cold, she must be in the infirmary she mused. Whatever happened when she blacked out they must have brought her back _I'll have to thank Laxus and Bickslow later_ she thought. She sighed; _it's too cold,_ she frowned as a shiver wracked her body; she pulled the blanket tighter but it wasn't going to do anything to help.

Meanwhile Bickslow and Laxus fists were curled, it didn't sit well with them that their mate was uncomfortable and they couldn't do anything about it.

Lucy did not want to get up at all. She knew the minute she did her team would know and they would burst in and destroy any peace and quiet she craved, she didn't want to deal with that. _I just want to go back to sleep,_ but she was awake and her stomach took the opportunity to let her know why her body woke her up… she was hungry and she had to get up whether she liked it or not.

"Fine!" She said exasperatedly to no one in particular, everyone tensed and Natsu and Grey even stopped when she finally sat up, the sheet falling in a pool around her waist as she rubbed at her eyes, yawned and then looked around the room.

To squeal in shock when she saw everyone was standing around silently, having watched her sleep… creepy. She turned a bright shade of pink "uhh…" was all she could mutter as she glanced back and forth among everyone "why are you…?" She was interrupted by the master though as he came skipping in with Freed and Mira in tow, the green haired man looking distraught and Mira beaming and holding a tray of food.

As she was setting it down on the bed Wendy came tumbling in, catching her foot on the door frame and falling flat on her face.

"Ow! Sorry!' She cried, rubbing her nose.

"Really child, you must stop apologizing!" Charle scolded.

"Right…" the bluenette muttered "I need to check on you Lucy!" she went over to the celestial maid and ran her hands over her friend as the blonde ate. Eat first; ask questions later, she was starving.

Everyone silently waited for her to finish, their intense stares were making her wildly aware that she was chewing really loud and looking really idiotic scarfing everything down but another part of her really didn't care and she kept eating till she was full, finally she leaned back feeling sleepy again, smiling in content.

"Lucy" The master began.

"Hmmm?" she asked dazedly, peering at him through half lidded eyes.

"What happened on your mission? We need to know the details." He asked her, folding his hands behind his back. There was barely concealed curiosity on everyone's faces, everyone except Laxus and Bickslow.

Lucy sort out her muddled thoughts for a minute before answering, when she did she confirmed what the two men had recounted, matching their stories until the part where she blacked out.

"I must have used to much magic" she assumed, "I just… everything went dark..." she held her hands out apologetically "I don't know what happened after that."

Master looked grave, and it gave the blonde pause "why? What happened?" She asked cautiously.

"There was" he looked like he was weighing his words carefully, before he spoke "an incident" he finished.

"What happened?' she insisted.

"I think it would be more appropriate for Laxus and Bickslow to explain" the Master sighed.

"Well then why aren't they saying anything?" She demanded turning to face the two; her fear was getting the best of her. What happened? Did her spirit die? Did something happen to her? She began to examine herself carefully, racking her brain for any possible indication of everyone's concern, she felt for her magic within herself, nope that was still there albeit a little strange to her but all the same, she was fine as far she knew..

"They can't, I had Freed put up runes to keep everyone from killing each other" the Master was eluding the inevitable, she knew it.

"Can someone please just explain, I'm freaking out over here!" She cried; she turned when she caught the two men punching their barriers in frustration, what was going _on_?

"Freed, let down Laxus barrier first, maybe he would do best at explaining."

Why was everyone in runes? Why were they fighting? What did they need to explain? She watched nervously as Laxus stepped forward when the runes were dropped around him, he quickly fell at her side and grasped her around the back of her neck and without warning he planted a kiss straight on her mouth.

Lucy sank into the kiss with ease and passion, her mind muddled by it. Laxus lips were hard and demanding he forced her mouth open with his tongue and lapped at the inside of her mouth which she responded in kind, he had his hand on her chin and was softly stroking her skin while pulling her deeper into the kiss. Just when she thought she couldn't get enough reality hit and her like a cold bucket of water, she opened her eyes wide; and she could vaguely see Bickslow freaking out, she couldn't see her team though because Laxus blocked her view of them and he was still kissing her. Wait… he was kissing her?

She shoved him off of her; she would never admit in that moment that every part of her wanted to answer to him.

Instead she backed away from him and almost fell off the other side of the bed in her attempt to escape, but he was there to catch her with lightning speed. "Lucy calm down." He told her softly.

"No! Get off me!" She cried, shoving at him "let me go!" He reluctantly released her, throwing a glare at a very angry Seith Mage, everyone else's faces in the room all mirrored each other's. Shock. Mouth open, eyes wide, speechless shock.

Lucy started crying then "what is going on?" She pleaded.

Laxus felt like an ass and Bickslow felt like he could have killed his friend right then and there, the lightning slayer cautiously approached her before enveloping her in a tight embrace "it's okay" he soothed "I'll explain everything, I promise." He told her, when she looked up at him he wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

She nodded and moved away from him, she missed his warmth but she needed the space, so she sat on the bed and he faced her.

"I… uh…" Laxus rubbed the back of his head; he had no idea where to begin.

"What happened when I blacked out?" She offered.

He looked down, a harsh look on his face "you weren't blacking out, you were dying Lucy." He told her, fear curled itself around her heart and he felt it to his very bones so he stepped forward and getting down on one knee he took her hand in his and rubbed the back of it.

"You were dying, and Bickslow said the only way he could save you was by binding your soul to his to keep you anchored long enough to get to Wendy, your maid allowed it" he pointed out, in case she got pissed.

Lucy stared blankly at him; processing that for a moment, before she spoke "Bickslow and I are… what? Bound?" She was so confused, that's what was so bad?

The gravity of the situation hadn't hit her yet though, she thought maybe it was something that could be undone, but why was everyone still worried?

Laxus took a deep breath before continuing, "you're his _soul mate_ " he rolled the word off his tongue like it was dirty and Lucy could feel the spite from it and it made her flinch, her brows furrowed then.

"You are my dragon mate." He continued, looking into her eyes for any trace of… anything, fear? Anger? Betrayal? Hurt? He was afraid of all of those, but what he was afraid of most was her rejection.

Lucy's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again; she looked like a gaping fish as she processed what he said. "What?" was all she could get out in the end though.

"When Bickslow bound his soul to yours, I panicked, I didn't want to lose you so I marked you" he turned the hand he was holding over so she could see the faint mark on her wrist that looked like someone with lightning shaped teeth had sunk into her skin.

She stared at the mark for a moment, reality hadn't set in… not yet. She stared at the mark some more, looked around the room with a dazed look while Laxus watched her tensely, she looked down at the mark again… and…

She burst out laughing "Oh my God!" she chortled, doubling over "you're kidding me r-right?" She put her hand on Laxus shoulder to brace herself while she giggled uncontrollably, nervous laughter bubbled out of her lips without an end.

If there was a reaction they were looking for this certainly wasn't it and when Wendy stepped forward worriedly, reaching out as if to check her; the Master put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Lucy's laughter died down then, and she looked at Laxus, really studying him; she turned to face Bickslow who was staring intently at her, before she turned back to Laxus and shoved him off her.

"What. Do. You. Mean. We're. Mated?" she bit out, "what did you do to me?" She accused the both of them, she made sure to address them both, just because Bickslow was behind runes did not mean he wasn't going to get her wrath.

"Freed trap Laxus" The master ordered suddenly, Laxus let out a vicious growl but it was cut off by his teammate's runes.

"Let Bickslow go, maybe he can explain it better then." The master sighed rubbing his temples. Freed complied.

Bickslow stepped forward cautiously toward Lucy, "you were dying baby" he told her softly.

"Don't baby me!" she snapped, and he flinched.

"Lucy…" he corrected himself "your soul was fading, and since we're soulmates binding you was the best solution."

"How long have you known I was your soulmate?" She spat out.

"Terounjima" he answered bluntly.

"And you?" she spun to face Laxus, who smirked; 'forever' he mouthed and Lucy rolled her eyes, "never mind she muttered exasperatedly.

"You couldn't have told me this?" she demanded, "and then you do something like this without my permission?!" She cried, tears were threatening to fall and Bickslow could see that, a flash in the room distracted everyone as Loke and Virgo broke through their gates at the mages distress.

"Let us try." Loke told the master who nodded and Bickslow was caught up in runes again, Loke knowing full well the consequences from what he was about to do, threw caution to the wind and enveloped Lucy around the waist and hugged her to him, his flirtatious mannerisms aside, she needed him… and Virgo; now more than ever.

He could feel the cold stares on his back though and if looks could kill… he'd have been fried and forced to jump off a cliff by now.

Her lion stepped away from her and the tears flowed freely down her face "what happened to me?" she croaked out, Virgo took her then, "we have more than that to explain Hime" she said dully.

"Oh what now?" Lucy half-heartedly demanded.

"Can you guys give us a minute?" He looked toward the Master, who nodded "I would like to hear this, as I'm sure Team Natsu and Lucy's…"

"Don't say it" Lucy warned without looking at him, the old man paled before spluttering "alright then, but they should be here all the same, Freed, Mira and Wendy leave the room for now, I'll call on you later." The trio left as quickly as possible, glad to get away from the drama of the situation.

Loke waited until they had left before he turned back to Lucy "That key you picked up" he began "Andromeda's key, uh…" he shuffled back and forth with his feet, he couldn't exactly tell her everything that was going on, it was up to the crowns to decide if they were going to tell her what picking up that key meant, Loke the leader of the zodiacs and the silver keys were merely pawns in a bigger game among the stars, they were not the most powerful and his master was caught up in it.

"You'll have to speak to The Corona Borealis and The Corona Australis." Virgo offered.

"The Northern and Southern crown?" Lucy asked baffled "what do they have to do with this?"

" _Everything_ " Loke groaned "but we're bound by the laws of the spirit world not to say anything about the wars between the most powerful constellations in our realm."

"But… the spirit king..." Lucy began.

"Is the king of _our_ realm the zodiac and silver keys, _not_ the constellation keys, their more powerful than he even is" he spread his arms out almost apologetically "we're nothing compared to them."

"That's not true Loke" Lucy scolded, coming to his defense but Virgo shook her hea

"It is Hime, human mages could not be allowed to wield the power of these particular constellations. But we can't say anymore, you'll have to find the Crowns and ask them about all of this." She bowed apologetically, "we're sorry for springing this information upon you without being able to give you any more details."

Lucy leaned down and hugged the pink haired maiden, "its okay Virgo I understand," she said smiling down at her, she turned to Loke "how do I get to them?" she asked him.

He pushed his glasses up his nose before answering "you'll have to go to a place where the aurora borealis touches the earth, and they'll be there."

Lucy pondered that for a moment "okay…" she finally said "you guys can go back now, I have another issue I have to deal with." She said, refusing to look the two men in the eye.

Before the two spirits left the pink haired maiden stepped forward "Hime, if I may, I did give them permission, if it was to save your life." She bowed.

"I know Virgo" Lucy said softly and with that her spirits faded back into the spirit world.

She sighed and looked down at the Master as if to ask him to tell her what to do about her predicament; and he was stroking his chin in thought, "I'll go and get Freed" he said after a minute of awkward silence.

When he returned with green haired man in tow he had specific instruction for the rune mage, which Freed quickly got to work without uttering a single word and before everyone knew it they were free from their cages.

Instantly team Natsu rushed Laxus and Bickslow as Freed was leaving the room but they were blocked by a barrier "Really?! aww c'mon!" Natsu whined beating his fists against the barrier, Laxus and Bickslow ignored Lucy's team and were instead intently focused on her.

"What did you do?" The blonde asked the Master.

He looked up at her grinning like a mad man "you and I can wander around this room freely; Laxus and Bickslow have one side and Team Natsu the other. The two boys will have to work out their differences without interference by anyone but you." He chuckled "and if they start a fight so be it, the room is incased in Freed's runes, no magic or brute strength will breach those barriers, so the rest of the guild should be safe at any rate." He rubbed the back of his head sweating at that particular prospect, imagining the horror and doom this new dilemma would wrought upon his beloved Fairy Tail, shaking his head; he sighed and went to sit down on one of the beds, cross legged eyes closed "You three go ahead and work things out." He told them.

Lucy finally turned toward the two men who were staring at her, waiting for her to say something but when she didn't Bickslow was the first to react, punching his friend and sending him flying across the room only to smack into something invisible and land on the floor with a thud.

"You son of a bitch!" Laxus snarled getting up and ready to fight but Bickslow wasn't where he thought he would be instead he had Lucy wrapped up in his arms and doing the same damn thing he did not too long ago.

Lucy was caught up in another blissful state, Bickslow's lips were much softer than Laxus and he greedily nipped at her lower lip, eliciting a soft moan from her. Bickslow himself was satisfied he finally got to be near her and he cradled the back of her head in his hand to hold her still as he softly attacked her mouth, his other arm snaked around her waist pressing her firmly against him.

Laxus was infuriated, how _dare_ he touch what's his, his possessive growl rang throughout the room and Lucy stomped on Bickslow's foot "w-what is it with you two randomly _kissing_ me?!" she spluttered, her face was flushed and she was panting with desire but she shoved that down and pushed the Seith mage away from her who was grinning like a fool.

"Laxus got to do it" he said before getting the wind knocked out of him.

"If you touch her again, I'm going to blast you across Fiore," Laxus threatened him. Bickslow was already on his feet his babies had been down for the count since he was locked up in the runes but now they float around him silently.

"You can't tell me what to do with _my_ _soul_ mate!" He bit out.

"I damn well can tell you what you can and can't do with _my_ dragon _mate_!" Laxus roared.

With that they lunged at each other, exchanging blow after blow; neither backing down it was quite a spectacle for everyone but Lucy who had enough and was suddenly between the two as they raced in for another go at it.

Horror masked everyone's faces when they saw her in the line of fire, including the two men who – if possible – looked even more terrified than anyone else, but Lucy's face remained calm, and stoic.

Laxus blinked next to her and then teleported away from the area they were about to meet, and Bickslow kept going crashing into the floor.

"You idiot!" Laxus snarled turning her to face him, checking her for any injuries, she said nothing as he and Bickslow both satisfied themselves with making sure she was okay.

"What did you do that for?!" Bickslow demanded from her.

"Can you two just stop fighting please?" She begged them, "I don't know what's going on, especially with myself and you guys are making it harder for me to sort things out in my own head!" She wailed putting her head in her hands.

They felt terrible, they could feel the pain radiating off of her and it was killing them, "what do you want us to do Lucy?" Bickslow stepped forward as if to reach out for her, but she moved away shaking her head.

"I need some time alone, some space from the both of you…" when she saw their stricken faces she was quick to correct herself "for right now!" she quickly told them, "and then we'll talk when I've had enough time." She finished hanging her head in shame.

The two men looked at each other for a moment before nodding "we get it Lucy" Laxus spoke, he tipped her chin up to look at him, "we'll give you all the time you need, he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before stepping away and Bickslow planted a kiss on her forehead.

The master sighed unsatisfied, but he wasn't going to force Lucy so the barriers went down and team Natsu was by her side in an instant.

"Can you guys just? I just want to go home" Lucy sounded tired even to herself, and team Natsu was being loud with their ridiculous death threats to a retreating Laxus and Bickslow.

Natsu was the only one uncharacteristically quiet, "enough." He demanded from his team "let's take her home." He commanded to everyone's surprise.

He was careful not to touch her and didn't even allow Grey to either, Erza helped Lucy up instead with a questioning look to the pink haired boy, but he shook his head and mouthed 'later.'

The celestial mage was exhausted and after the entire ordeal she was glad to finally be heading home and in her own bed, she fell asleep walking and Erza had to carry her the rest of the way.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

She had decided not to go to Fairy Tail at all the next day, and her team stayed with her with the exception of Happy who had decided to fly off before anyone could stop him and 'inform' the guild of her decision to hide away.

Laxus and Bickslow had been waiting at the guild for her, even if they would leave her be they needed to see her, but when Happy announced the news they were frustrated.

Besides they themselves, Levy and Gajeel had left the guild to see what was going on. Gajeel looked over his shoulder; he could smell the two men keeping to the shadows, hearing what had happened from Wendy. He had to feel bad for them, most of all Laxus, being a fellow dragon slayer he couldn't imagine _having_ to share Levy with anyone.

Levy was the first to bust through the door "Lu-chan!" she exclaimed kneeling down to hold the little blondes hand. Gajeel remained in the doorway of her bedroom, he chanced a glance at Natsu and made it a point to breathe in heavily, flame brain caught on quick, and both of them could smell the two men nearby.

"What happened Lulu?" Levy asked, sitting on the bed next to Lucy who occasionally rubbed her chest right over her heart, "Wendy told us a little of what was going on, but not much" Levy said "but I want to hear it from you" his mate waited expectantly for Lucy to begin, and before she did, she rubbed that spot above her heart one more time.

Lucy felt distraught by all of the events unfolding, she had a mission from Loke and Virgo to find the northern and Southern Crown, she was caught between two guys; which wasn't as fun as books and movies made it out to be, it was embarrassing and kinda scary. She told Levy about everything, it was news to her and Gajeel, but all the same team Natsu listened intently.

"What I really want to know is why Laxus and Bickslow are fighting so much?" She finished.

"What do you mean Luce?" Natsu asked kneeling down, very careful not to get too close, the last thing Lucy needed was two over-protective, slightly possessive mates to come busting down the door.

"We're all mated." She blinked at him like it was so obvious "shouldn't they be getting along?"

Natsu grinned, despite the heaviness of question, "no Luce" he finally said with a grim face. "Laxus and Bickslow are mated to _you_ , and you're mated to both of them. They aren't mated to each other."

Lucy's lips formed the shape of an O'. She didn't think of that.

"So are they ever going to stop fighting?" She addressed the question to the dragon slayers in the room; they looked at each other for a minute as if deciding their answer amongst themselves before Natsu hesitantly spoke, being careful with his words.

"I think… eventually they'll work it out. For you." He told her.

Lucy frowned, thinking over the situation in her head, she lay back on the bed, legs hanging over the side as she sighed loudly.

"This is frustrating" she admitted, more to herself "I feel like I'm being torn in two." She absently rubbed the spot over her heart again.

All Natsu wanted to do was pick up his best friend and cradle her, he had a bad feeling about everything, but not about Laxus and Bickslow, he somehow knew whatever was going to happen to Lucy they would be the ones to protect her.

He sighed, "Let's go" he turned to Grey and Gajeel, Lucy looked up worried, but he grinned casually "don't worry Luce; I just want to go talk to them about a mission we were supposed to go on." He waved his hand dismissively, "but since we're gonna be leaving, do you want to stay with her Erza?" The red head looked at him confused for a second, but she nodded smiling at Lucy, who smiled weakly back at her.

"I'll stay too" Levy volunteered grinning, "We'll have a girl's night!"

Everyone said their goodbyes, Natsu practically rushing the two men out the door, "what was that all about flame brain?" Grey asked, crossing his arms over his chest when they were finally outside, he knew they didn't have a damn mission.

"We need to be careful about touching Lucy" Natsu replied, winter had slowly been setting in and finally the snow fell turning everything white. Grey seemed unaffected, Natsu's body heat kept the cold at bay but Gajeel and his metal were freezing solid and he had a strained look on his face from being outside, despite his cold weather gear, the other two didn't need. He envied them right then and there.

"Why can't we touch her?" Grey demanded.

"Because ice prick" Gajeel cut Natsu off before he could speak "right now she has a very possessive Dragon slayer who will kill any male that gets too close, and I don't know about bright eyes but I bet he's feeling real possessive too."

Natsu nodded silently, eyes closed his ears were picking up the sounds of the two, hidden on the roof of Lucy's house and he knew the lightning slayer could hear their conversation especially.

"Either way I got a bone to pick with Laxus" he stated, more to the blonde than to the two men standing there, Grey looked confused and frustrated, but Gajeel understood and grinned "Gihi"

Grey sighed in defeat, "I'll be back at the guild" he told them and walked off giving a halfhearted wave over his shoulder, meanwhile the two slayers leaped up to the roof of Lucy's house.

.

* * *

.

Laxus had his eyes closed, he could hear every bit of the conversation, he had to chuckle at the naivety of his little mate when she asked why they were fighting and he could almost see her face when Natsu explained things to her.

 _So are they ever going to stop fighting?_ He frowned.

 _I think… eventually they'll work it out. For you._ Not likely he scoffed, he listened in on the conversation while Bickslow shifted around agitated that he couldn't hear much, he caught snippets of the conversation inside Lucy's apartment and thought along the same lines as Laxus.

He definitely couldn't hear what the three of them down there were saying and he grit his teeth in frustration, "what are they talking about?" He gruffly asked Laxus, his "friend" scoffed at him.

"Why should I tell you?" He bit back, giving him a quick glare before turning back, eyes closed again concentrating on the conversation below, he grinned animalistically when Natsu commented on having a bone to pick with him.

Bickslow growled at him, sure it sounded pathetic compared to the slayers but still menacing all the same. He turned his head when flame breath and rusty bones showed up on the roof, staring at Laxus.

"You know why we're here," Natsu said arms crossed over his chest Gajeel was hunkered down on the roof staring at the lightning slayer, Bickslow clearly ignored.

Laxus chuckled, "What your gonna give me the third degree Natsu?" He sneered finally turning to face them.

"You knew what it was to be mated as a dragon slayer lightning freak" Natsu accused, pointing a finger at him. "She'll never be able to go far without you trailing behind her, or she'll be in pain." He growled, you're practically taking the only thing Lucy worked so hard for… Her independence."

Laxus scoffed at him "as if you idiots don't follow her around enough as it is "he snapped "like lost puppies trailing after her scent, what independence did she have with you versus what she could with _me_?"

Natsu looked away from him, he grit his teeth, fists clenched; knowing the fellow slayer had a point.

Gajeel decided to step in "yeah at least she wasn't tethered to them though; if they die she won't be gone forever."

Silenced filled the air, even more deathly quiet as the snow muffled everything and gently rained down around them, but none of them cared… well except for Gajeel; it was really starting to get to him.

"Why now?" Was the real question, "you had plenty of opportunities to tell her, when did you really find out?" Natsu asked him.

Laxus turned away, since the first time she walked through that door, and he was ashamed, he felt that tug since he smelled her and he brushed it off claiming se was too weak for someone like him.

"Since she first arrived at Fairy Tail" he said softly, but they all heard him. Bickslow snorted in disgust.

"Heh, so is that why you demanded from her to "be your woman?" Natsu sounded almost disgusted, using air quotes for effect.

Laxus growled, but he knew the flame idiot was right, he had wanted her, damn she was hot and he wanted to taste that.

"And fantasia?" This time both men flinched, didn't you use your soul sight on her?" Natsu asked the Seith mage, for the first time acknowledging the man.

Bickslow chuckled darkly "Loke blinded me with his Regulus before I got a good look." He told him, "I saw her soul on Tenrou."

Natsu grinned feeling slightly sorry for them "You guys have known forever then. I feel bad for you chumps."

Laxus rolled his eyes, after the grand magic games life had been quiet for Fairy Tail, they spent a year in relative peace, occasionally Sabertooth showing up on their doorstep every now and then to visit the mages who had changed them for the better.

He had the same foreboding feeling as Natsu, that life was going to pick them up and toss them around again.

"Well you know what's next right?" the fire dragon slayer asked them, Gajeel smirked.

"Tch" Laxus turning away from him, he felt Natsu's hand on his shoulder and was caught off guard when he turned to face him and got sucker punched off the roof.

Inside the girls heard a thud, Erza assured eagerly saying she would check it out and went outside while Levy and Lucy went back to drinking tea and talking softly.

When she got outside she saw Laxus face planted in the snow, Bickslow cackled manically up on the roof, and Gajeel smashed an iron fist at him to shut him up before the blonde over heard him.

Natsu jumped from the roof and landed in a snow mound next to the lightning slater, Gajeel came back with a knocked out Bickslow over his shoulder.

Erza stood there watching the scene before her in amusement, Laxus was the first to sit up and yell at Natsu "you sucker punched me you flaming idiot!"

Bickslow was next "what the hell…" he mumbled rubbing his head, "that's for mating with Lucy without her permission," Natsu glared at them for a moment before he rubbed the back of his head grinning sheepishly, Erza nodding her head in approval before disappearing back into the apartment.

Gajeel started to walk off. "I got to get out of this cold," he said gruffly "otherwise I'm gonna freeze to death."

Natsu waited for him to leave before turning back to the two men "Look, if you at least _act_ like you're making some sort of effort, Lucy will come around faster," he advised them, "I'm gonna send Lisanna over, her and Levy will help Lucy understand some of what she's going through but-" he looked up at the grey sky "I dunno what to do about the soul mating thing" he shrugged, "at least they'll be able to help somewhat." With that he walked off hands behind his head.

"What an idiot" Bickslow commented, Laxus grunted in agreement but he was looking at Natsu's retreating back, instead he was looking up at the window of Lucy's apartment.

Bickslow did the same; he was worried that Lucy would never come around; that he would be forced to watch his soul mate from afar, as "afar" as he could get without the both of them hurting, he did wonder how far away he could stay before they felt the effects, but he didn't want to find out, he wanted to fix this, if even only temporarily.

His hands were itching to go right in there and take her firmly and hold her tight against him, take her away somewhere quiet, but he knew that Laxus would follow and it made him hate his friend.

Laxus was already on the roof sitting right over her window still listening in on their conversation, they were avoiding the topic of the three of them for now, focusing on girly things he was hardly interested in.

Bickslow soon joined him and not long after they saw white hair indicating Lisanna finally had shown up, and soon her voice mingled with others.

They decided to stay the night, right up on the roof despite the cold.

Lucy wasn't an idiot, she knew they were out there the whole time, she could feel them deep in her bones, she knew Erza had gone out when they heard something hit the ground outside and could only guess that her team were giving them the third degree, _at least they didn't do it in public_ she thought, they could be so rambunctious sometimes.

Sleep finally overcame them all, Levy and Lucy cuddled up together on the bed while Lisanna and Erza had sleeping bags on the floor.

"Lucy?" Levy whispered turning to face her best friend.

Lucy turned to face her as well "Yeah?"

Levy looked down for a minute "do you love them?" She whispered looking back up at her, Lucy smiled, Levy knew they were out there, both girls did, they had mates themselves after all.

"I don't know yet Levy, did you love Gajeel when you two mated?" She asked her.

"Yeah…" Levy answered, "But Gajeel and Natsu both got to know us before telling us all about that mating stuff. Laxus and Bickslow kinda sprung it on you," she giggled, turning onto her stomach she stretched growling like a kitten and Lucy giggled.

"Maybe things will work out" the blonde sighed leaning her head on her hand, "after all, everything happens for a reason, right?" She mused.

"Yeah girl." Levy winked, "look at the bright side, though! They are two of the hottest guys in the guild… aside from Gajeel of course." They both giggled.

The girls finally fell asleep, but before Lucy did she whispered... "Goodnight Laxus and you better tell Bickslow I said goodnight too, or I'll ask him tomorrow." She yawned going ahead and letting her eyes close.

Laxus sighed, "Lucy says goodnight." He turned to face the Seith Mage, who was leaning backward on the roof, despite all the snow surrounding him.

"Why are you telling me?" He asked harshly.

Laxus chuckled, he was amused by his little blondie; she was clever. "Because she threatened me if I didn't." He replied.

Bickslow smirked, his baby doll was feisty; that was for sure.

.

* * *

.

Lucy decided to go to the guild the next day, her and the other girls were walking to the hall, and she could sense the two men were trailing after her, after a while and being sick of two pairs of eyes constantly boring into her back she ran forward busting the guild doors open with a kick, she waved at a very confused Erza, Levy and Lisanna; before disappearing inside.

Gajeel roared in laughter knowing what Bunny girl was up to, trying to get a rise out of the guys; he shook his head amused.

The doors closed with a thud and she dashed to the bar where Mira was, out of breath. "Strawberry milkshake pleeeeaaaase?" she drew out smiling, the guild doors slammed open behind her but she didn't look back, everyone was silent as they watched Laxus and Bickslow practically stalk over to the celestial mage.

They stopped before they could get too close though and sat at a table… _together_ not too far from her watching her out of the corner of their eyes.

 _Mmmmk, at least they remembered to give me space_ she smiled chancing a glance at them, _and their attempting to get along, good_. She mused while sipping at her shake.

"Oh my" she heard Mira gasp, "those two really have the hots for don't they Lucy?" She asked her eyes twinkling and Lucy groaned, _oh boy, here it comes_. "Oh my goodness, I can just see it now, all the little babies running around here!" She squealed, spinning around.

Laxus growled and Bickslow let out a harsh snarl at the mention of Lucy having the other males babies, while Lucy looked like she had lost all color to her face. "Mira…" she said desperately.

Mira began ticking off on her hand "Blonde haired, blue eyes… Blonde haired, brown eyes… Blue hair, brown eyes… or Blonde hair, red eyes…" She squealed even loud than before and sank to the ground in a little puddle, Lucy could swear she saw little hearts floating above Mira's body and gaped disbelievingly at the sight.

A flash appeared and Lucy looked up to see Loke was standing at the Master's office door knocking; he turned to her giving her a halfhearted smile before he went inside.

 _What is he doing?_

Laxus and Bickslow looked at one another before turning their attention back to Lucy who had her head tilted to the side trying to figure out what Loke was up to.

Finally after a long wait, the Master called the trio up to the office.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here." He stated

"I'm guessing it has to do with me finding the crowns." Lucy said, thinking it was obvious and the Master blanched.

"Well… yes Loke here has some information for you." He gestured to her spirit.

Lucy looked at him expectantly and he wasted no time explaining "Lucy it's now imperative that you begin this mission, you need to find the crowns, where the aurora borealis touches the earth, just call out their names the way you would summon a spirit, it's where that idea originally came from."

Lucy nodded "where would we find a place like that?" She asked.

"I think just about any mountain will do now" Loke explained, pushing his glasses up on his nose "Especially now that you possess Andromeda's key, before the lights only touched the tallest Mountains, now they probably scattered the sacred light. Hoping you'll come to them."

He then looked at Lucy earnestly, taking her hand and ignoring the growls coming from the two men flanking her sides, "The spirit king is urging you to start your objective now Lucy." She was feeling worried, the serious tone in his voice was unnerving her. "He says it's very important you find them as soon as possible."

Lucy looked down at her hand in his, but she wasn't really seeing it as she thought over all the current events, she was scared; she didn't know if she wanted to be caught up in whatever was going on in the skies.

She felt Laxus hand on her shoulder and Bickslow grip her other hand, both sensing her uneasiness she smiled at them reassuringly, before turning back to her friend. "Okay Loke, I'll go."

"Like hell" Laxus cut in and she faced him in surprise, "not without us anyway." He corrected himself, coughing in embarrassment.

The master who had been listening intently to everything, nodded in agreement, "Laxus is right Lucy; you will go with the two of them, not your team this time."

Lucy nodded solemnly; she understood the severity of what she needed to do, so she didn't argue. "We'll leave first thing in the morning, she told Master Makarov.

The old man nodded in approval, "alright then, get going, I feel you three have a lot to discuss."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

Lucy walked down the steps in a daze after Loke's words, the Spirit king was urging her to go… _now_ ; she looked around the guild hall for her teammates, for any sign of comfort, something to ease the dull ache in the pit of her stomach.

Loke had disappeared and without his usual gestures, in fact a lot of the men in the guild were being very careful around her and she suspected it had a lot to do with her – she looked behind her… mate situation, the two men were still flanked on either side of her and when she looked back it was into their stoic and worried faces which turned her burning stomach into burning little butterflies.

She snuck another look at them and turned back just as quickly, blushing when they had both grinned at her.

"Lucy…" The soft voice of Bickslow made her stop and look back, she caught the tail end of Laxus silent snarl and she felt uneasy. "Yes?" she asked him, looking up at him with her doe eyes.

Bickslow felt warm from the contact with his little cosplayer and he quirked a grin for second when she turned those big brown eyes at him, he couldn't get over how cute she was sometimes.

"We should probably… talk" he suggested, using his words carefully, she had just started to acknowledge their presence, which came much quicker than they had anticipated, she flinched slightly and he was worried she was going to run away like a little bunny, his mouth quirked again, _bunny girl_ sometimes he saw why Gajeel called her that, even without her little cosplaying bunny outfit; cosplayer bunny, he should start calling her that. He shook his head to rid his thoughts, they needed to talk and he couldn't get distracted.

He hadn't noticed Laxus snake his arm out to gently grab Lucy's wrist, to keep her from fleeing, he wasn't sure she would, he just needed her to stay in close proximity to them.

"Lucy we need to talk about this, now." Laxus said firmly, stepping up close to her, Lucy could faintly hear Mira faint in the background and she fought to suppress a sigh. "Especially if we're all going on this mission together" the lightning slayer continued gruffly.

Lucy mulled it over for a second, she had planned on giving herself some more time to process her predicament with two men, and she hadn't expected to have to interact with them so soon. She conceded Laxus had a point though; they needed to work together and figure this out, if she was going to survive a trip with these two anyway.

Laxus could practically hear her thoughts buzzing away in her head, both he and Bickslow had backed off since then, he with his arms folded and Bickslow casually leaning on the stairs railing, they were at the foot of said stairs and they knew everyone was staring at them, but they could bite their asses for all they cared.

"I agree." Lucy finally gave in, silently, she finally let out that discontented sigh she had been holding in and looked up at them, "but we have to set some clear rules." She said strictly, the celestial mage folded her arms over her chest, right over her cleavage; she was not giving them any sort of view.

Laxus grinned at her feistiness, Bickslow had the same thought process, lolling out his tongue at her, he winked and she blushed furiously.

"Whatever you say cosplayer, bunny." He cackled throwing an arm around her shoulders, ignoring the low growl coming from Laxus.

Lucy rubbed her temples, "Laxus you're going to have to stop with all the growling, that's a first thing" she told him sternly.

"Tch" was all he replied but he nodded curtly at her.

"And two, even though I know you guys have been trying, keep the fighting down to a minimum okay?" She said sounding exasperated.

The both nodded, "three, no kissing me randomly!" She hissed puffing out her cheeks like a little blow fish, scratch that, a little _red_ blow fish because her face was blushing furiously. They stifled their laughter and nodded seriously at her.

"I can't really think of anything else right now, but if I'm uncomfortable with whatever's going on" she looked back and forth between the two "I'll let you know, you still have to give me time, but you can definitely try to get to know me." She finished with a small heartwarming smile, "no bickering" she added as an afterthought, "as much as you can anyway" she muttered.

"What's that blondie?" Laxus teased

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him and twirled around effectively able to prance out of their reach, but she called over shoulder at them. "Meet me at the train station tomorrow at 6 sharp, we're going to be going to shirotsume!" she called waving before joining Levy at the bar and an eagerly awaiting Mira.

"At least we got her to talk to us." Bickslow said in a low voice as they watched their mate talk animatedly with her friends, Laxus grunted in response and Bickslow sighed running a hand through his Mohawk, "we're gonna work together." He said more to himself than his former friend, Laxus again grunted in response.

They took her choice away, they understood the gravity of what they had done, and they were going to give her whatever she wanted… whatever she needed to ease her into the situation with them.

…

Lucy woke up the next morning, slowly getting dressed, she looked out of the window at the cold grey morning, she couldn't really see the chilly breeze whipping around small miscellaneous items here and there, and blowing what little dead leaves on the trees away.

She put on a heavy coat all the same, her hair was down and wrapped in a scarf so it wouldn't blow away and she secured the top of her head with a beanie, winter boots on, knee high socks under her pants and a long sleeve sweater underneath her winter gear and she was ready to go.

She and Virgo had discussed what camping supplies they would need, and her spirit had set it all up, telling Lucy not to worry about it; Lucy herself packed some clothes for a week and if she needed more she was sure Virgo would provide.

She walked out the front door pulling her scarf up higher over her face when the chill hit her nose, "You guys can come out now." Her voice was muffled by the fabric.

Pretty soon Laxus had jumped from a roof and landed smoothly beside her; keeping his pace slow to match hers, Bickslow took his cue and crept out of the alley ways and was soon by her other side.

They walked to the train station, bought their tickets and were soon sitting comfortably in their own compartment. As soon as the train lurched forward Laxus face turned green and of course Lucy took pity on him and laid his head in her lap, and sat stroking his hair to soothe him.

The train ride was mostly silent as Lucy and bickslow both looked out the window, she was well aware that the Seith mage was furious and trying his damndest to keep it to himself but after awhile of deafening silence save for the lull of the train rumbling across the country side, she sighed and looked over at him.

"Hey Bickslow?" She asked, he turned to look at her, but didn't say a word.

She smiled, "it seems every time we board a train Laxus is always asleep and you and I just end up talking, I feel like it's going to become a habit" she giggled, she was getting somewhere, coaxing Bickslow into believing that he would be able to get to know her no distractions even if Laxus was the one physically touching her, it could still work out in his favor.

He seemed to mull it over for a minute before sighing and then grinning, "yeah I guess your right." He winked it her and she blushed slightly.

"So what do you want to talk about?" He asked

She looked down at LAxus for a minute watching his hair while she ran her fingers through it, it was risky but... "so how did you and Laxus meet?" She asked him.

He looked taken aback, but he answered her anyway, it took him a minute to remember how they _had_ actually met, it had been so long he'd almost forgotten. "Ah... well.." He seemed to be at a loss for words, "we just kind of... found each other i guess" he shrugged, "I was out on a job and hadn't joined Fairy Tail, but apparently Laxus was doing the same job the mayor hired multiple people for, he figured someone was going to get it done quickly and whoever the first mage completed it would et the reward." He grimaced

"Laxus and I got into it when we were both fighting off the pack of Vulcans that were invading the town."

"was that the job?" She asked, she probably should have known but she asked anyway.

"Yeah" he chuckled "the mayor was pretty desperate they had destroyed half the town and kept kidnapping the women, we both eventually decided to team up and whopped their asses." His tongued lolled out while he laughed, "they didn't know what hit em!"

Lucy smiled fondly and he kept going with his story "We decided we made a good team, split the reward and I joined Fairy Tail." by then he had relaxed a bit, he'd forgotten how close they had gotten over the years, always bro's always looking out for each other, the first two compadres in the thunder god tribe before Freed and then Evergreen had joined.

Lucy chuckled "So you were the first one who joined your team?" She asked

"Yep" He told her popping the 'p.'

"Hmmm" she hummed

"What he asked looking over at her, she seemed lost in thought back to staring out the window, Bickslow had the vaguest thought that if he was motion sick he could be laying there and he watched hands for a minute, before she snapped him out of her thoughts.

"you all have that one thing in common," she pointed to her eye silently when he looked back up at her questioningly, Bickslow raised his eyebrows at her. "Your eyes, all four of your magics are focused in your eyes mostly," she smiled at him "I wonder if that's why he picked you guys to team up with him." She cocked her head to the side.

"Huh?" He was really confused

"Well" she breathed out trying to explain what she meant, "Well... I mean, finding people who have things in common with you is comforting." She smiled weakly

Bickslow mulled it over, he guessed she was right, he never thought of it that way and wondered if any of them in the raijinshuu tribe did, he looked down at Laxus, had he really picked them to be on his team because they all had that in common?

Laxus in the meantime had been listening and Lucy felt him tense when she brought the subject up, he had never thought about it but she was right, somewhere in his subconscious he must have bonded with his friends because of their one major similarity; sure they had other things in common but that one stood out like a sore thumb.

Lucy massaged his scalp to soothe him, she hadn't meant to upset him in any way, she was hoping her conversation would help them remember why they were friends in the first place. Bickslow was back to looking out the window and Laxus hummed in contentment and snuggled into her belly which made her blush and she fought to suppress a giggle at how very cuddly he was being over his usual hard demeanor.

It was night when they finally made it to shirotsume, they quickly found a hotel Lucy having her own room and the two men sharing a room with separate beds, they didn't seem too happy about sleeping away from her still but they didn't voice their complaint out loud, Lucy retired to her room and lay on the bed staring at the ceiling the two men right next door was strangely comforting, but a part of her wished she could be with them at the moment.

She sighed with a certain sense of longing, she just wanted someone to hold her. A little sparkle of light and she turned to see Virgo joined her, smiling softly her spirit slipped under the covers and laid Lucy's head on her lap and played with her hair until her princess fell asleep, but before she drifted off Lucy thought it was nice having her hair played with, no wonder Natsu and Laxus liked it; it was like a massage.

No sooner had she fallen asleep that Loke had appeared and watched Virgo's hands playing with the celestial mages golden locks absentmindedly, he was almost in a daze both spirits worried about what was going to unfold, he sighed after some time and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

"Big brother?" Virgo asked softly.

"I'm fine Virgo" he replied

"I'm not." He looked up at her then, her eyes were as serene as ever but he saw in the deepest parts, that she was worried like they all were. It was unusually quiet in the celestial world now.

"When she finds out... when she remembers, do you think she'll forget about us?" Virgo asked him, she looked at him then and he saw a flash of hurt briefly pass over her features.

He smiled and hunkered down next to her so his head was level with Lucy's, the sleeping blonde remained unfazed. "I don't think so Virgo, Lucy has _always_ had a kind heart. She's never let us down, not once."

Virgo nodded, her hands had stilled but she resumed playing with Lucy's hair again.

Loke stood back up and left, he didn't know what to say beyond that, he'd had enough of a hard time calming the spirit world down as it was. It was all in an uproar of all the celestial beings there, of bewilderment, confusion, panic, excitement, anxiety. Things he was feeling himself, minus the excitement, Virgo was in the same boat as him, they worried about Lucy.

Eventually the pinkette vanished herself, she didn't want things to change, she had grown accustomed to the way things have been here lately, had always been in her life. She wasn't afraid of change up until now, she laid the blonde's head down gently before a sparkle lit up the room briefly and she vanished.

.

* * *

.

Lucy woke up feeling refreshed that morning, Laxus and Bickslow had even gotten a good nights sleep in what felt like days. They headed out and veered toward the mountains, heavily trodden down in winter gear, the wind picked up and howled between the peaks, Lucy shuddered momentarily consumed by the feeling of an omen, but when she looked up at the two men in front of her and the mountain in front of them she felt a steel in her resolve and she pressed forward.

They were making good time climbing the peak, mostly thanks to Bickslow's babies flying him up and Laxus teleporting from hold to hold, occasionally they'd switch back and forth carrying Lucy who was _not_ happy with being carted around and feeling useless.

They were making good progress that is until a storm blew in from the north and the wind howled around them making it almost impossible to hear their own voices above the noise. Laxus was struggling to teleport himself upward, Bickslow and Lucy had finally decided to tether themselves to the mountain because the Seith mage's totems couldn't handle the force of the wind and almost whipped them both away.

They made it over the side of a ledge that had a cave carved into the side of the mountain and they settled into it grateful to be out of the wind. Virgo was immediately out and setting everything up in a speed that rivaled Laxus lightning and thinking of that Lucy giggled earning her curious looks from the two men, to which she just shrugged them off.

"We'll wait until the storm let's up before we keep moving." Laxus told them gruffly, there was a small fire built in the cave and they all huddled around it for warmth.

"What if the storm doesn't let up?" Lucy asked him.

The lightning mage shook his head, "we can't risk going out into this storm, and I'm definitely not risking you." He replied bluntly, Lucy blushed lightly.

"I can handle myself" she almost whispered.

"I get that blondie but I'm still not risking your life, especially not for some damn spirit." He looked at her almost sternly, they were sitting close enough that he reached out and taking her wrist in his hand he gently tugged her over to him to sit in his lap, so he could nuzzle into her hair, breathing deeply.

Lucy sighed contentedly, Bickslow's jaw was set tight but he remained quiet trying hard to remember that they couldn't fight in front of Lucy, but he made sure he wasn't looking at them. Laxus was the one who seemed to ahve the most contact with cosplayer and it was really starting to get on his nerves; she seemed to sense how he was feeling because she looked at him with sadness. Poor Bickslow, she would make it up to him later.

Laxus eventually fell asleep holding Lucy and she was staring into the fire absentmindedly, nothing really going through her mind, every now and then a wave of nervousness and nausea would hit her and she felt like she couldn't do it, she didn't want to do it, whatever was waiting at the top of that mountain could wait forever, she wasn't going. Every time she felt these emotions filter through her mind though in his sleep driven state Laxus would squeeze her reassuringly and she would settle down.

Eventually Bickslow had had enough and went to his tent to sleep. Lucy got up and followed him when she felt sleep about to over come her, he was awake and lying with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling, when she entered his tent he sat up on his elbows and looked at her questioningly. Not saying a word Lucy crawled under his blankets and slept next to him, to which Bickslow happily and quickly curled against her back and possessively wrapped an arm around her waist.

Laxus had fallen asleep next to fire and Virgo came out and put a pillow under his head, not bothering to cover him with a blanket for the time being.

Bickslow's heart swelled, he nuzzled into Lucy's hair and breathed in her scent, he wound his arm tighter around her pressing her firmly against him and he had to fight back every instinct in him that was screaming for more than just simple physical contact, she did _not_ need to wake up to _that_ , he was sure she'd never snuggle again with him if she did.

He took another deep breath and fell asleep soon as the fire slowly faded out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**

Lucy woke up facing Laxus; she stared wide eyed for a minute before composing herself and thinking back. She remembered crawling into Bickslow's tent, she frowned, she was supposed to be giving herself time and here she was snuggled up in between the two men. Laxus hand was on her waist and Bickslow's arm possessively held her against him, she tuned into the steady breathing of both men.

The celestial maiden pulled herself up and their arms dropped limp onto Bickslow's sleeping bag, she inwardly groaned at how hard the ground was and thought she should have Aries make wool beds for their tents as well, in case she decided to bunk with either one of them again.

She stopped that thought process, frowning again; she looked between the two of them, her sleep ridden hair was spilled over one shoulder and tickled the bare skin, she was wearing a loose off the shoulder sleep shirt and small shorts despite the cold weather, but they seemed to easily keep her warm without her knowing by being on either side of her.

She looked over them for a bit, drinking in the sight of just how handsome they both were. She should have been angry still over what had happened, but it wasn't in her nature, she thought over how their lives would all be and it seemed like it would be nice. She huffed out a breath, shouldn't she be giving herself more time? Wasn't this going to fast if she gave in? It wasn't normal to immediately be mated to two men, although nothing in her life was ever normal.

She slumped slightly, and kept staring at them, they were good men, they did what they thought was right in their panic, she wished they would have come forth and told her about their feelings sooner, so much time was wasted already at building a relationship, and now she was thrown in head first into a relationship before she could even blink.

There was nothing she could do about that now though, what happened, happened, and she it was getting exhausting fighting her feelings and fighting off their advances, this _could_ turn out great like her and Levy had thought if she just relaxed and let everything happen on its own, besides wasn't that what was happening anyway?

Lucy got up, she didn't want to be awake, she was going back to bed, but in her own very soft bed, she lazily wobbled to her tent yawning and threw herself unceremoniously down on the soft wool face first, sighing in absolute bliss; she should just have Aries replace her bed at home with her wool.

Laxus and Bickslow were awake; Laxus had woken up to the sky signaling the end of night and the beginning of day in that dark eerie blue color. He noticed the fire had died down to a small kindle and neither his mate nor the Seith mage were nowhere to be found. When he did track Lucy down he almost threw a fit, and had to sharply curb his anger and desire to beat the bloody pulp out of his friend, he almost contemplated picking Lucy up and taking her back to his tent but he knew it would result in an argument if either mage woke up.

So instead he lay down on her other side, Bickslow had woken up and glared at him, pissing Laxus off even more when his arm tightened around his blondie, Laxus arm had shot out and lightly grabbed her thigh and there was a silent staring contest between the two of them before they just as silently called a truce and lay there until Lucy finally woke up and exited the tent.

They got up following her just in time to see her crash down on her own bed. Laxus shook his head and Bickslow sighed running a hand through his hair, he simply turned around and went over to the campfire.

Virgo was already out and had brought it back to life, she had several things out too to make breakfast. The Seith mage took the ingredients from her mumbling that he got it and thanked her before sitting down and making their meal.

Laxus watched over Lucy for a while before turning and sitting on the opposite side of Bickslow watching his friend absentmindedly. The storm had mysteriously and miraculously died down some time last night and he was contemplating the reason behind it.

Lucy woke up to the smell of food and her stomach growled, "nooooooo" she whined turning over and stretching her sore legs, she flexed all her muscles before huffing and laying still, she tossed and turned, whining again "I don't want to get uuuuuupp!" She pout.

"C'mon blondie, breakfast is ready!" She heard Laxus shout at her.

"No." she said, petulance in her voice, she didn't even have to raise her voice any, she could talk normally knowing he could hear her.

She heard him chuckle "Don't make me come in there and get you!" He warned

"I don't want to get uuuppp!" she groaned into her wool pillow. She was about to go back to sleep when someone entered her tent and picked her up, "gahhhh!" She cried out, Laxus picked her up bridal style and walked to the campfire where Bickslow was eating and waiting, the blonde lightning slayer unceremoniously but gently plopped her on the ground, and then handed her a plate.

Lucy sighed and ate silently, glancing back and forth between the two males, they were silently eating themselves so it was peaceful quiet until finally Laxus spoke up, "we should start heading out here soon, if we want to make it to the top before nightfall."

Lucy nodded, "but we'll probably have to wait until nightfall before they show up," she pointed out.

"Yeah but I want to get there before dark so we don't run into any problems, I won't relax until we're at least at the top," he grimaced suddenly "I won't relax really until you're safely back home, but I can't do anything about that," he ran a hand through his hair.

Lucy frowned and was about to say something when Bickslow interrupted "we can't keep her locked up Laxus, she's going to do whatever she wants and we're supposed to be supportive of her decisions, she's not a porcelain doll."

Laxus opened his mouth to reply when Lucy cut in, "guys, let's drop this subject for now and just focus on our mission okay?" She suggested, to which they both nodded.

"What are you gonna say to them when you see them cosplayer?" Bickslow asked her curiously, Laxus went back to stuffing his face, although he wasn't as messy as Natsu was he was still scary to look at, she side eyed him for a minute before answering the Seith mage.

"I don't know" she answered honestly "I want to know what that key did to me, and why the Hydra constellation attacked innocent people, how was it here, but most of all, why do they want to talk to me so badly?"

"I'm assuming it's about the key." Bickslow replied

She sighed "yeah, but if it was only about the key then I would think the spirit king would just tell me, there's got to be more if the crowns want something to do with all of this. She picked up a stick and poked the fire "I really want to know who they are most of all, what part they have to play in the celestial spirit world, they sounded pretty important from how Loke is acting." She dropped the stick and ran a hand through her hair in agitation, messing it up further, she felt it tangle in her fingers and she sighed in agitation.

Bickslow smiled at her, she looked so damn sexy with messy bed ridden hair, her face still had a sort of sleepy look to it, her shirt had slipped down one shoulder and was exposing that soft beautiful skin underneath, he wanted grab her, to feel how soft she was under his fingertips.

He shook his head catching himself before he went further; Laxus finished up eating and was lying back on the ground, arms behind his head, eyes closed in satisfaction.

"I never knew much about the crowns or any of the other constellations for that matter, there are a lot that aren't mentioned in Earthland's books" she tilted her head to the side, staring off at the horizon peeking in from outside the cave.

"I didn't know about the Hydra having a key until that night" Bickslow cringed at the memory and Laxus grimaced, "I've only heard snippets of the crowns here and there but nothing more." she shrugged "all I've ever known were the silver keys and golden zodiac keys, Ophiuchus's key surprised me." she mused "I wish there had been more information, or if there is I had looked into it more" She said sadly, for minute she was feeling like a failure, like the day she knew nothing about the relationships between keys when Angel almost beat her because of her stupidity.

No one said anything for a while, when their stomachs settled they geared up, Virgo coming out to pack the campsite up at her usual impressive lightning speed. Laxus smirked before he faced the two mages in front of him, they were all now standing on the ledge that led into the cave. "I'll start heading up and scout for safe landings; you two follow up after me."

Lucy and Bickslow nodded, as much as Bickslow would have loved to impress Cosplayer, Laxus was and always would be the leader type, and Bickslow would always follow. He scratched the back of his head feeling crestfallen, noticing Lucy was looking at Laxus with an almost unconcealed admiration, and he wished she would look at him that way too. He didn't think she ever would though, Laxus smiled down at her before ruffling her hair affectionately and taking off but not before nodding in Bickslow's direction.

"C'mon baby doll," the Seith mage grinned and held a hand out to his soulmate.

Lucy huffed "baby doll?" She asked him, she was blushing and she would be lying of she said she didn't find her new nickname sort of endearing.

"Yep" he winked

They hopped onto one of his babies and began floating up at a leisurely pace, "so what made you change your mind?" He asked her, referring to her willingly spending the night with him.

She looked at him for a minute, studying his features she would also be lying if she said she didn't find either of them attractive. Bickslow's eyes were a deep maroon color, and they were beautiful, mesmerizing, and passionate. While Laxus cold sky blue eyes left her breathless, heady and at peace, they both had perfect combinations that fit her so well. Laxus passionate over protective nature and Bickslow's laid back, caring nature. Both were pervy but it was different for each of them, Laxus tended to flirt heatedly and Bickslow's flirty nature was playful.

She smiled at him when he lifted a brow at her as she was staring at him. "I don't know.." she said softly, "we're bound like this now, there's nothing we can do to change what happened" she noticed his mouth go into a tight line and she smoothed it away carefully with her thumbs. "I thought it would be best to force us to go slow, because I was scared of what happened, but the more I'm in both of your presence the more calm I feel." He smiled at her then.

"I just want to go with the flow" she grinned at him and he chuckled

"So does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want now?" He asked lolling his tongue out at her.

She side eyed him for minute before sighing. "yes" she conceded, laughing when he suddenly scooped her up and had his babies spin them around midair before crashing his lips against hers. She felt slightly dizzy both from the spin and then from the kiss, but she kissed back with equal amount of passion, and before they knew it they had almost reached the ledge.

To where a stormy looking Laxus was waiting with his arms crossed, Lucy tucked her hair behind her ear with a sheepish look on her face and a grinning fool behind her, she turned to Bickslow, "I think it's your turn to find a ledge" she told him turning back to Laxus He stuck his tongue out at the man before cackling and flying away before his friend had a chance to shock him.

Laxus looked down at Lucy almost sternly, "you heard?" She asked.

"Barely, the wind carried off a few words here and there, so fill me in." He looked quite pissed, seeing them both making out, he had still yet to be welcomed by her in that way, and he was feeling pretty murderous, to which those thoughts instantly dissipated when Lucy threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely.

Laxus groaned and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her firmly against him, his hands roamed over her back and down the sides of her thighs squeezing them tightly which she let out a muffled sigh, his tongue dove deep into her mouth, her deliciously, deliriously, sweet mouth and when he pulled back he nipped at her lip as an after affect.

Lucy smiled up at him and his face relaxed finally when they drew away "I won't fight you guys." she told him, "I'm still scared a little, but what's done is done, and I just want to live in the moment" she placed her hand on his cheek "besides I know you guys are trying your hardest to make me happy and I already forgive you for what happened, I know you did it to save me... Well, Bickslow saved me" she giggled when he frowned, "and you were just scared of losing your mate, so that I can forgive too." she winked at him.

He chuckled and leaned down to bury his face in the crook of her neck, breathing her in, the feel of his breath right there, on her sweet spot left her shuddering in delight, and she sighed and wrapped her arms around his middle hugging him to her tightly, he was so warm, he was so big, like a giant teddy bear and she giggled inwardly at that.

One of Bickslow's babies zoomed in front of Laxus face and then shot upward; Laxus looked up and faintly saw Bickslow standing on a ledge above them waiting for him to just zap up there.

They went like that for the rest of the day, each taking turns with Lucy, talking, snuggling, chaste kisses here and there, Lucy admit she was enjoying herself, she never thought her dating life would go this way, with two men instead of one, but they were exceeding her expectations on how she thought she wanted to be treated, and admit to herself that she was loving this, how could she not?

It was nightfall when they reached the top, the sky was unnaturally clear, the stars were bright and the full moon guided the last of their climb, they were nestled on packed snow settled in the crest of a few mountain peaks, it looked like a white blanket, and it was shining like the moon was right underneath their feet. It was also quiet and sort of eerie. The view was as well, amazing. City lights glistened and twinkled in the distance looking like clusters of stars, Lucy gasped at the sight and looked all around while Bickslow and Laxus followed her silently, both watching her and taking in the view simultaneously.

After Lucy satisfied her curiosity she started fidgeting nervously so she brought out Loke's key and called him to her, "shouldn't they be here by now?" She asked him worriedly, twisting the key around her hands.

Loke looked around, and up at the sky "I honestly don't know," he admit to her "I know their meeting with you tonight, but I don't know when, when you see the aurora borealis though is when you'll know their here."

He went back to the spirit world and she heard Laxus growl in frustration, "I don't like this." he explained when she looked at him, questioning him with her eyes. "I don't feel comfortable waiting around up here," he swept his hand out to indicate the area before crossing his arms defiantly.

Bickslow nodded his head, for once in agreement with his friend, Virgo popped out and began wordlessly setting up a mini camp for them, building them a fire, she brought a glittering wood from the celestial spirit world, and when she lit it up it glowed different colors and the embers that floated into the air looked like miniature stars.

Virgo had also decided to take it upon herself to make them dinner and they sat in silence eating. Lucy looked like a squirrel practically spinning her head around, not getting enough of the gorgeous scenery, or the pretty fire, or the embers that went up to the sky. She got up after she ate and wandered around again, from all sides of the top of the world, seeing something new every time; both men keeping a close eye on her.

Suddenly it was like a tiny light, a little pink light that floated in the sky and moved around like water, they stared up at it and watched this light grow bigger and bigger until the whole sky was lit up by the magnificent colors of the aurora borealis, Lucy gasped at the beauty of it, she could faintly see two figures look as if they were descending from stairs and getting bigger as they got closer to them.

When the two figures reached them, they were standing on the light, not touching the ground but were standing above it. The woman had long beautiful white gold hair that looked crystallized to them, her eyes were the color of the aurora, swirling pinks and greens, she looked breathtakingly beautiful, and like an older version of Lucy.

Laxus felt off while Bickslow's throat constricted when he watched the woman look at his girl in front of him with a sorrow that seemed to be too painful for her.

She was wearing a gorgeous dark blue gown, so simple and delicate, she was barefoot but had feathers wrapping around her legs from her ankle up until they disappeared underneath the dress, the same with her arms, but when the feathers ruffled he could see them turn slightly into wings that would have protruded underneath her arms and out from the side of her legs.

The man standing next to her had hair that shone like the sun, and eyes that looked like the universe was caught up in them, no pupils, just a heavenly blue with flecks of stars, but they could tell he was looking at Lucy in the same manner the woman had been. He was more or less more formal looking than his companion, wearing a storm grey suit, but the jacket was off and in his hand as it rested at his side; wings like the woman protruded and wrapped around his arms, the other hand was in the pocket of his pants, and unlike his companion he was wearing shoes, his shirt was slightly unbuttoned and his hair was a little more ruffled, while the woman's hair looked more neat and was flowing smoothly like she was in water.

After the shock of it all, Lucy shook herself mentally and stepped forward holding out her hand in greeting "Hi my name is Lucy, it's nice to meet you." She said smiling.

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 **As lucy was thinking herself, I went with the flow, and even though I** think **that I should have dragged this out a little more, it didn't feel right, so I let their relationship truly start and I hope you guys like it :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Fairy Tail.**

Lucy held her hand out for a minute, until her smile disappeared and instead confusion replaced her features, Bickslow and Laxus had taken flank on either side of her and were staring at the two spirits in front of them with scowls on their faces.

The two spirits that float so languidly in front of her, said nothing, they just stared at her as if she were a ghost; until the woman broke the silence by simply floating toward Lucy and attempted to reach out to touch her, but Laxus growl stopped her and Bickslow pulled Lucy back against him and hovered over her protectively "You're not laying your hands on her!" The lightning mage barked.

The woman stepped back silently, pain written across her features as she looked between Lucy and Laxus in confusion.

Lucy put her hand gently on Bickslow's arm, and then Laxus when Bickslow let her go, "I'm fine, I don't think they'll hurt me." She told him. He looked so tense, his fists curled and his teeth bared, he looked like a dragon to her in that moment and it both scared her and thrilled her.

Bickslow had his arms crossed and he stood straight a frown marring his features, for once he looked utterly serious and that too scared and thrilled her, but she ignored them and turned to face the two spirits in front of her.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" She asked them innocently.

They looked at each other for a moment and Lucy almost thought for certain they couldn't even speak; but she was proven wrong when the women finally opened her mouth and a beautiful melodious voice emerged.

"Lucy?" She asked

"Yes that's me," the blonde confirmed

"I thought I'd never see you again" the woman said.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, her stomach dropping, had she met these people before? She wracked her brain, and she felt somewhere deep in her gut that she had, that there was a sense of familiarity; but she couldn't remember them at all.

The man stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on the woman next to him, "My name is Corona Australis, or Austris as my wife calls me."

"And I am Corona Borealis, or Ariadne" The woman introduced herself smiling at Lucy.

"I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and this is Laxus" she pointed at the dragon slayer on her left "And Bickslow" she pointed the Seith mage on her right, "my mates" she smiled warmly at her companions before turning back to the two crowns who looked downright shocked, before composing themselves.

"Lucy..." the woman began, but she seemed unsure of what to say, so her husband stepped in.

"You are not from this earth" he told her bluntly.

The blonde scrunched up her eyebrows and said "what?"

"You were born in the celestial world," Ariadne stepped in quickly, trying to dispel her husband's brusqueness. "You were born from me over two thousand years ago."

"Woah, woah!" Lucy waved her hands at them "back up, what the hell are you talking about?" She almost shouted "I'm Lucy Heartfilia, my parents were Layla and Jude Heartfilia." She informed them, but the woman shook her head.

"I'm going to take a different approach," Austris told Ariadne who looked as if she were about to cry.

The spirit beckoned them to the seats surrounding the fire, he remained standing as they all sat, still hovering above the earth; the group followed his silent command but the woman stayed behind overlooking the world below her, her back turned to the little party.

"Start from the beginning" Lucy motioned to him. Laxus had his head in his fists, his elbows resting on his knees while he intently listened to what the spirit had to say, Bickslow sat back against the log seemingly carefree, but his babies hovered around him agitated.

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* * *

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 _2000 years ago._

 _"She's beautiful." Austris whispered down at his sweet angel, his wife coming up to the crib behind him; she slid her arms around his waist from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. "We made a beautiful baby girl." He continued "I almost can't believe it."_

 _His wife chuckled and he could feel it rumble against his back, "I can, I am amazing after all." She teased._

 _He scoffed "So I had nothing to do with it?" He teased back, turning to face his wife, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed laying her down gently, then going back to crib and gently lifting his daughter up into his arms. "Of course, I only needed your help a little bit." Ariadne laughed when he scowled at her, but it was replaced with an affectionate smile, and when he looked down at their child, the northern crowns eyes brimmed with tears, she would never see that look of pure adoration in his eyes other than when he looked at their gorgeous baby girl, and it made her heart swell with pride and love._

 _She reached her hands out to take her child, when he carried her over to the bed, and he laid down next to his wife and they cooed over their precious baby girl._

 _Eventually the night slowly turned to day, they couldn't sleep, they felt like they would miss a moment, or they felt like she would need them the minute they closed their eyes and in truth a part of them was a little afraid to even take a breather._

 _Eventually they did pass out and a pink haired maiden came in and gently took the baby from them, Virgo held this precious little bundle while she slept and she smiled down at her, brother would be jealous, since she was now officially the first one to hold their princess of the Zodiac._

 _Virgo held her as long as possible before she needed to put her down so she could return to the rest of her duties, she lay her regrettably in the bassinet and tiptoed out gently closing the door, glancing at the royals who were cuddled peacefully together._

 _"How were they?" Leo suddenly popped up next her in a twinkle of light, Capricorn not far behind._

 _Virgo smiled knowingly "They were fine, I put hime to sleep in her crib," she said nonchalantly_

 _"You got to hold her?!" Leo wailed Capricorn slapped a hand over his mouth; they began to follow Virgo as she went in the nursery the next room over._

 _"Be careful not to wake them." He scolded the Lion; Leo looked positively stricken, like a puppy who had its favorite bone taken away._

 _"Why yes, I suppose I did" Virgo chuckled, she was picking up the laundry and the constant burp rags the royals had left scattered all over, they had no idea what they were doing... yet. It was endearing she thought how careful they were, like they were going to break little hime; oh how over bearing they were._

 _"I; as the leader of the Zodiac's, should have had first rights to hold the princess!" Leo declared indignantly, arms crossed his chest and it puffed like a spoiled bird, earning him a pop on the back of the head by the goat next to him._

 _"Calm yourself Leo, Virgo is hime's handmaiden." He pointed out, Leo again, looked defeated._

 _"She is a peaceful sleeper" Virgo pointed out as she gathered up the last of the laundry "the royals are lucky they have an 'all nighter' as they say?" She smirked._

 _Leo nodded "already our princess is special" he said proudly, grinning like a fool, hands on his hips, standing like an idiot, he should have been the bird constellation._

 _"Very special indeed;" Virgo whispered._

 _._

* * *

 _._

 _A little girl with crystal like blonde hair ran down the lush green hill, squealing in laughter as a pair of arms suddenly encased her and threw her into the air, sparkling silvery eyes that glinted like starlight on occasion shone, blinding everyone when she laughed, and when she laughed, it sounded like a tiny bell._

 _Austris spun his daughter in the air several times, throwing her up and down and catching her just in time, all while she squealed, giggled, protested through both "Daa-dyyy!" She laughed "StoooooOOP!" She laughed harder when he tickled her._

 _"Andromeda! Austris! It's time to eat lunch!" A melodious laugh reached them, Virgo was there instantly, Austris quickly returned to his wife and the pink haired maiden took her mistress by the hand and led her over to the blanket that was laid down on the soft grass._

 _The breeze blow gently, Leo and Capricorn stood on either side of the group casually watching all around them for any signs of danger, despite it being a celestial world, not just celestial beings lived there, occasionally the creatures of the underworld would pop up every now and then. Different beings from different dimensions and other worlds passed through each other, the only species that did not do so were the humans of earth._

 _Tiny wings that looked like feathery pink crystals unfurled from Andromeda's back and she huffed at them "will they ever get bigger?" She whined "I want to fly!" She laughed and jumped up and down in the air, her wings flapping dramatically, Ariadne laughed and grabbed her daughter around the waist holding her close, "in due time little one." She said against her daughter's hair._

 _"Hime?" Virgo caught the little girl's attention, holding out a small sandwich, which she snatched a little too quickly and stuffed in her face_

 _"Thank you Virgo!" She said in between mouthfuls, she swung her arms around the pink haired spirit and hugged her tightly "you're my best friend right?" she asked, the spirit knelt down and hugged her back "always." She replied._

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* * *

 _._

 _A young woman laughed whole heartedly at the scene before her, a young man had fallen over in a fountain and was soaked from head to toe, and a little girl was bowled over the side laughing so hard her face was streaked with tears._

 _"I-I'm sooo sorry Perseus, but- but" Andromeda laughed harder, "oh my gosh it was like you were tripping forever! Hahahaha!"_

 _The little girl laughed with her; she had reddish hair and bright purple eyes, she was covered from the neck down in feathers that was part of her skin, but flared out into a baby doll dress and were mixtures of gold's royal violet and specks of silver. She began hopping around reenacting the scene from before, hopping on one foot acting like she was about to fall, arms flailing all around her before she fell over laughing._

 _Leo and Capricorn were close but not too close continuously watching for any signs of danger, Virgo was busy for the day, the young man climbed out of the water, "yeah, yeah" he pouted, his hair was a deep blue color and his eyes looked aquamarine, the veins that ran up his arms glowed and had a turquoise tinge to them, the bright veins stopped just underneath his jawline; which was strong, everything about him screamed power, from the muscles that his now wet shirt clung to and rippled under the soaked fabric to the aura that radiated around him; he looked like a classic heartthrob, strong nose and cheekbones and a crooked endearing grin._

 _He whipped the water from his hands "can't you just dry yourself off?" Andromeda asked him, referring to his useful - I can quickly dissipate water with my mind power - he grinned mischievously at her before stalking toward her._

 _"What's the fun in that though?" He asked her._

 _The blonde backed up laughing her hands in front of her in mock defeat "don't you dare" she warned backing up as he continued to stalk her, the little girl wistfully watched them from the fountain leaning against the stone, her hand casually swirling around the water making ripples._

 _Perseus chased the blonde around the garden before catching her off guard and pulling her against him, shaking his head so droplets landed on her skin and she squealed trying to push away from him while he attempted to soak her from head to toe. He picked her up, his arms around her waist and carried her to the fountain, the blonde wiggled harder, "don't you do it!" she yelled at him "I swear Percy, if you drop me in that water I will send you shooting into the stars!" She warned, and laughed as he dropped her on the ground instead and tickled her into oblivion._

 _He stopped and gave her a chance to calm her breathing down, Andromeda stared up at him as he hovered over her, a soft smile on his face; he gently wiped a water soaked strand of hair from her cheek, leaning down lower and lower until a gasp of delight caught them off guard. They looked up to see Aria with her hands clenched to her heart and hearts swimming in her eyes "sooo cuuuuuuuttee" she fainted "I can't handle it." She sighed and the two laughed before Perseus helped his companion up and they continued with their day as if he hadn't been about to kiss her._

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* * *

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 _"The humans are weak, uncivilized creatures!" A woman hissed at the royals, her silver hair swinging wildly, tied into a braid that reached her knees; her violet eyes flashing dangerously. A younger version of the woman stood beside her with her arms folded staring at the young princessin front of her with utter disdain._

 _Cassiopeia the king's sister, her husband Cepheus and their daughter coma Bernices or Bernice for short, had come to "visit'… more like complain yet again about the way Cassiopeia's brother ruled._

 _"I don't understand why you keep visiting the disgusting creatures, let alone offer them any assistance." Cepheus came up next to his wife and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly, he also had silvery hair but unlike his two companions he had royal blue eyes, they were all three dressed lavishly, and in sharp contrast to the casual wear of the royals in front of them._

 _Bernice flicked her eyes down to stare at Andromeda's bare feet and back up at the princess with one brow raised, the blonde grinned sheepishly._

 _"This is why we should have ruled in your stead, you obviously have no respect for customs according to our people; we shouldn't be stooping so low as to mingle with such things." the woman said flipping her braid back over her shoulder, grasping her husband's arm with her own._

 _"Well you do not rule, sister" Austris replied harshly "I do, and I think it's better this way, seeing as how low you think of other beings you consider beneath us, the humans are learning magic, at any rate they will become more and more powerful, some of them even have the capabilities of opening other planes of existence, soon they will be able to interact with us freely, it's best we greet them with friendly intentions, who knows how strong they'll get, and besides, we've established good relationships with a few of them."_

 _He looked affectionately at his daughter who had been responsible herself for befriending the humans of Earthland, she had a way with people, she was like a beacon of light for others and he was proud of her, she smiled back at him and the girl across the room from her scoffed._

 _"I really wouldn't bother myself with those things." she snapped, looking just like her mother next to her. "They'll never advance far enough to be in the same category as us" she shouted, "you should stop this nonsense, if anything we should be ruling the pathetic creatures, not acting like they're our equals, what a disgrace you are to our kingdom."_

 _"I WILL NOT HAVE YOU QUESTIONING MY RULING!" Austris bellowed, making everyone jump and step back from him, the sun in his hair blared out and struck the ground at the feet of the offenders in front of him, causing them to yelp and jump further back "if you'll excuse me we have a meeting with Earhtlands king and queen to discuss our peaceful treaty." He seethed, tired of his sister's nonsense "Get. Out." He barked, Leo and Capricorn stepped forward to escort them out, but Cassiopeia snapped at them._

 _'Don't touch me!" She hissed, grabbing her daughter's hand she marched out of the throne room her husband following close behind._

 _A light touch on his arm, signaled his daughter attempting to comfort him, he pulled her into a hug resting his chin on her head he looked at his wife worriedly._

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 ** _I hope I got all my I's dotted and T's crossed, but here we go :)_**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Fairy Tail.**

"Eventually my sister and her husband grew out of control, the battle was too great." Austris passed a hand over his face, "my daughter led an army of her people and humans as did Cassiopeia and Cepheus, it was a savage civil war and ended thousands of lives."

"What happened?" Lucy asked on the edge of her seat, so far Austris had told her that she was their daughter, and how his sister had tried to take over the kingdom.

"You..." he paused grief striking his features "you sacrificed yourself, you used your entire life force to create a barrier between the two worlds, preventing the spirits from entering Earthland, but you couldn't completely close it off, there were loopholes, so you made those loopholes into keys and cast them all over Earthland..."

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 _"This can't go on" Andromeda wiped her sword clean of the blood of innocent people and she cringed, tears leaking from her eyes; a pair of arms encircled her and Perseus held her close, "But we have to keep fighting… I just don't know if I can anymore" she cried into his chest, gripping his shirt in her hands, there was blood all over them, the ground, their comrades, the spirits hardly suffered, all they had to do was hop back and forth between the human world and theirs to heal and come back for more._

 _It was never going to end, the current battle had stopped for now, both sides calling stalemate, but it wouldn't last long._

 _The night wore on and Andromeda found herself alone on a cliff looking up the sky, her fellow spirits and human friends below her, planning their next move. They couldn't keep doing this, eventually the earth would be wiped clean of them all, and the strife would continue._

 _If only the spirits couldn't come into this world, if only she had the power to prevent them from walking this earth._

 _The moon shone so bright she was sure it looked more like spotlight on her, waiting for her to make a decision, and it was a hard one. She had asked Crux to find her the info to create a barrier - he popped up next to her, speak of the devil - "I have found what you were asking for princess' he said bowing._

 _"What is it?" She asked softly, he fidgeted, "it's okay crux I need to know."_

 _"It's dangerous…" he almost sounded as if her were pleading, but he might as well have, he knew she would go through with it, she would do anything to maintain the peace for the people she loved, it was why they all loved her so much._

 _After a moment of silence as he somehow hoped she would change her mind and not want the info, he sighed in defeat "it would take a great life force to create a barrier, but it wouldn't completely prevent them from coming back and forth, it would just be more draining on their magical energy and they wouldn't be able to hold onto the tendrils of their life force if they stayed here too long, but they would still be able to come and go as they please." He told her._

 _"Can we fix that?" She asked him, he sighed again._

 _"I suppose, if you took that energy and attached it to a sacred object, something that had meaning to what your trying to do, then it would prevent them from being able to come here altogether, the first part you would most likely survive, but princess" he pleaded again "the second part would completely drain you, you will die." He clasped his hands together begging with his eyes for her not to go through with it._

 _"Let me see the spell." She said ignoring him; she already made up her mind. -_

 _Aria came bursting through the tents entrance in a panic "she's on the cliff, I don't know what she's doing but I heard part of her and Crux's conversation we have to stop her!" She cried before racing back outside and flying upward to the top of the hill._

 _Perseus tore out of the tent with the royals behind him, fear suddenly gripped his heart and it constricted painfully, it almost stopped completely when he looked up and saw the swirling of gold energy; the telltale sign of a life force being used for powerful spells, he shot upwards using his water to propel him forward and landed smoothly beside the swirl of light. "Andromeda!" He shouted, trying to reach her, but the light knocked him backward, and he stumbled._

 _"NO!" he roared trying to reach her again, using his powers to try and push through, Andromeda was busy mumbling the spell as her hair began to dull, and her eyes began to fade from their beautiful silvery color to a slate grey, she was floating just above the ground, staring at the moon, eventually that burst of energy boomed over the landscape, the strongest force of it flattening her companions to the ground for a short period of time, the force then slowly dissipated into a soft breeze that covered the earth._

 _The spirits began to feel a pull toward their world and a drain on them, Andromeda collapsed but not before Perseus caught her, Aria hovered nervously over her, her hands fluttering not sure where to check first, or what to even do._

 _Austris and Ariadne quickly rushed to their daughter but all were interrupted when bright flashes appeared before them in the shape of keys, each spirit catching them as they formed an existence._

 _The royals held gorgeous ghost like keys that looked like the Aurora borealis, Perseus and Aria alike held crystalized keys in their hands, Virgo, Leo and Capricorn stood behind them;_

 _All baffled over their golden keys, Andromeda breathed deeply in and coughed alerting everyone to her condition, she looked so pale and weak. The water god leaned his forehead against hers and cried, his shoulders shaking, "what did you do?" He whispered._

 _They soon carried her back to tent and laid her to rest, all sitting around in various parts of the room until she woke up. Ariadne was the first to notice her daughter stir "Oh sweetheart!" She cried, "what did you do?!" she wailed, lifting the blonde upright so she could hold her while she rocked her back and forth._

 _"It needed to be done." Andromeda whispered back_

 _"Damnit no it didn't!" Perseus shouted running a hand through his blue hair, he stomped back and forth pacing, "we can fix this," the words rushed out of his mouth desperately, "we can draw your life force back and you'll be fine, we'll win this godforsaken war and pretend you didn't just do something stupid!" He snapped, Aria flinched at his harsh words but the others stared at him with pity._

 _"Perseus..." He heard her whisper and as much as he wished he could stay mad… he couldn't. He sighed and went to her, Ariadne gently set her daughter down on the bed and he clasped her hand tightly as he saw the light fading slowly from her eyes. "You all know it wasn't going to stop, that this is what I could do to save everyone, who knows how long this would go on? How many more lives this war would take?" She breathed in deeply; her words were coming out in gasps now._

 _"With those keys we can only be summoned here, our spirits would have to rely on human magic to be here at all, but maybe... it's for the best we never interact with humans ever again." She whispered._

 _"I barely have the energy to cast all of the keys across Earthland" her breath was shaky, and she blinked slowly, "but I have to try." She continued, determination, despite the faraway look in her eyes glinted in the depths of grey._

 _"Princess" Leo came forward suddenly and bowed to one knee before her "as the leader of the zodiacs, we would be honored to serve human kind in honor of your sacrifice and hopefully make up for the wrongs of all of our people." Tears were streaming down his face, and his voice shook, "allow my power to cast our keys across Earthland, so you don't use your own." He pleaded._

 _The blonde smiled gently at him and laid her hand on his head, he looked up at her, "thank you Leo" She breathed out, closing her eyes for a moment and they waited with bated breath but she opened them again "I accept your wishes."_

 _He nodded and in a flash of the Zodiacs keys shot out like shooting stars, flashes of gold could be seen across Earthland as the keys were scattered far and wide._

 _"I don't want anyone to hold our keys." Perseus spoke on behalf of the guardians, "we will cast our keys as well, but in the deepest bowls of the earth, we don't need anyone wielding our power for evil." With that each of the guardians own power cast their keys, they could all feel the pull of their world weighing on them, getting stronger and stronger and they knew eventually they would disappear._

 _"We will cast the lesser spirits across Earthland as companions to human kind" Her mother spoke "and we will destroy our own keys."_

 _"We do not want anyone to possess our power; it's too much for anyone, ill intentions or good." Austris and Ariadne snapped their keys and they dissipated in the air like stardust, their feet lifted from the ground, no longer able to touch the earth ever again._

 _"Then I will use my remaining energy to cast our enemies the same way the guardians cast theirs." Andromeda told them, "I can feel you all slipping away" she smiled sadly at them, it was true, they could feel it themselves._

 _Perseus picked her up gently and cradled her in his arms "I love you." He whispered._

 _She brought her hand up to his cheek and cupped it, he leaned into her touch "I love you too." she sighed happily._

 _He crushed his lips against hers desperately, as if he could keep her there that way, when they pulled away he lay her down on her mothers lap who stroked her hair, as the last tendrils of her life force was drained away, and she faded before their eyes._

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"We watched our daughter die in our arms." Austris finished, Lucy turned to see Ariadne sobbing silently behind them, and her heart shattered. Austris watched his daughter carefully, he had kept many details of his tale from her; only telling her what was necessary, like how she was in their world, where she stood, the battle, her sacrifice and what had become of them all.

He wasn't sure if it was right telling her about her personal relationships with some of the spirits, knowing in time she would find out, and he knew some of her old friends would want to tell her themselves.

"We thought she was gone forever, but then we sensed her; in the womb of a woman, a celestial mage who carried the same kind heart as our daughter, and she was born in the human world as Lucy."

He wanted to envelope his daughter in his arms finally, the light of their world they missed her dearly and watched her grow up from afar and it hurt deeply, but at the same time they were overjoyed that she was never completely gone.

Lucy gaped at him, she thought this must be a joke, but the seriousness on his face told her that what he said was true, "So I was a celestial spirit?" She asked him, he nodded.

"I died..." she processed, he nodded.

"What about the spirit king? I thought he ruled over the celestial spirit world?" She asked

Austris ran a hand through his hair and flecks of sunlight drifted out, she became mesmerized by them until he cleared his throat and her attention was back on him. "We created him from a cluster of stars, powerful enough to keep the energy alive in the spirit world, that you _think_ is our world, but it isn't; it's another dimension separate from ours to keep the spirits who were willing to serve the humans safe."

"If I made the more powerful ones into keys, can't people control them?" She asked him.

He shook his head before answering "no, they are too powerful for their own good, they would go against their human owners and try to destroy them or find a way back here, in which case I'm guessing someone actually found either Cassiopeia's or Cephus key, maybe even both, but they would have to have immense power to summon them."

"What about the... good spirits?" she asked.

"In order to honor your death they allowed their keys to be cast away as well, not wanting to be wielded by foolish humans who would abuse their power." Lucy winced at that, it didn't sit comfortably with her that _she_ was the reason her spirits had been abused.

"Who.. um.. what was my life like in our world?" She winced at the word _our_.

Austris smiled, "aside from you being beloved? You had many friends who fought beside you."

Ariadne's voice interrupted him then "yes Perseus and, Aria, they were best friends a-" she stopped herself and looked at her husband who shook his head mildly, going unnoticed by the three who had turned to look at the woman behind them "Monoceros was your companion, and Chiron was your mentor." She continued and left it at that.

"What about my spirits?" She asked them, she wondered if she had been good friends with them in her other life, and was eager for the answer.

Ariadne nodded her head and smiled sadly at her "we realize you have a very fond friendship with your spirits now, and we are grateful for them taking care of you. They were more or less our servants in the castle, Virgo was your hand maiden," She told her "Leo and Capricorn were your personal guard, you didn't have the kind of relationship you have with them now."

Lucy frowned, she didn't like the sound of that, and she wondered if that was why Virgo called her hime all the time, why all of her spirits (minus Aquarius) called her princess.

"If I was so great, why did Aquarius hate me?" She asked with a deadpan look on her face.

The two crowns looked at each other again "we don't know, she adored you, she is Perseus's little sister," Lucy frowned, what could she have done to Aquarius that made her hate her so much?

"Why was the Hydra after me? And why was he so hell bent on me taking that key?" She asked them then.

Austris and Ariadne frowned "we actually don't know the answer to that question, many of the spirits that tried to enslave humanity disappeared into another realm not long after your death, and it worries us how desperately they wanted you to take back your power." Austris answered her. "We do think that the spell you cast didn't drain your entire life force, a piece of your very soul must have survived somehow, and none of us thought about you becoming a key yourself, we don't even know how long your key has been here or where it was all this time."

Lucy frowned "So am I still a celestial spirit?" She asked them

They looked at each other, "not now..." Ariadne said carefully, "you might become one again over time, or maybe a half breed, the first of your kind, we do not know what is going to happen to you, if you'll get back your full strength or if your own power will become too much for you."

Lucy paled "so I might die?!" She asked in a panicked voice.

Her mother shook her head, "I don't know sweetheart, but we think it's wise for you to seek out your guardians" she told the blonde.

"The guardians?" She asked bewildered.

"Yes" Austris confirmed "They'll be able to help you, and fight beside you when all goes wrong."

"Where do I find them?" Lucy felt determined by her task, determined to save her nakama, and Earthland from these spirits, if they were as bad as the crowns said they were.

"Aria wants to be the first to be found, well" Ariane chuckled, "Perseus and Aria both want to be the first ones found, but Perseus is letting Aria go first, she's very excited, you two were very close, almost like sisters" The southern crown's eyes twinkled.

Lucy grinned at her "I can't wait to meet my old.. and new friends" she giggled behind her hand.

The Northern Crown nodded approvingly "Aria can be found in what you call Magnolia?" He asked unconsciously looking toward his wife as if to confirm it, to which she nodded anyway.

WHAT?!" The three mages shouted.

Austris looked at them confused "yes, she ended up growing the rainbow tree as well as growing in it, the first one to be exact and it would be the largest one, we believe."

"You gotta be kiddin me" Laxus growled in annoyance, for the first time speaking since Austris explained everything.

Lucy sighed in exasperation, why couldn't this have been a little easier? "So I find her and then what's next?" She asked finally after rubbing her temples several times.

Ariadne was the one who answered her "She'll tell you the location of Perseus next and then so on."

"Okay" Lucy said in a deflated and very tired voice, she wanted to go to bed already, and sleep forever on top of that.

"We're going to take our leave now" Austris said then, "good luck, and even though we feel this is awkward for you, we love you." Lucy looked up at him when came up to her and gently pulled her into a hug as if he was afraid she would disappear on him "we are very proud of you, as we always have been, our beautiful daughter."

He left then, walking back up into the aurora, they all watched until he disappeared, Ariadne was next cupping Lucy's face into her hands it broke the blonde's heart to see the woman cry. "I know your name is Lucy now, but would you mind if I called you by your other name one more time?" She sobbed out and Lucy nodded, tears threatening to spill from her own eyes.

"Good bye for now Andromeda!" The spirit threw her arms around her daughter and held her tightly for a long while "I hope we can see each other again, I don't want to miss out on anymore of my daughters time." She cupped her face again, wiping away the tears Lucy could no longer hold back "I missed you, and I love you so much sweetheart." the Southern crown kissed Lucy's forehead and hugged her again before she too disappeared the same way the southern crown had.

Lucy collapsed in the snow after they were gone, the information suddenly hitting her in the gut and she was terrified at what she had learned, she felt Laxus scoop her up gently and carry her to their tent, Virgo took it upon herself to go ahead and set up one tent and a large bed for the three of them. He gently undressed her and Bickslow got her pj's from the pinkette; he took his turn helping her get dressed again before they both stripped down to their boxers, Bickslow laying her down in the bed between them

Lucy snuggled up to Laxus making up for last night when she snuggled against Bickslow; the difference was, Bickslow wasn't half naked. She sighed in contentment when she felt the lightning slayers skin touch hers.

Bickslow laid back, arms behind his head, he chanced a glance at Laxus who looked up and the two men locked eyes for a moment. They were worried; the events unfolding seemed to be getting more confusing and more worrisome as time went by.

They felt like there was missing information but they couldn't put their finger on it, eventually Laxus opted for sleeping, curling himself around Lucy protectively, Bickslow stayed awake awhile longer contemplating over everything before he finally passed out from exhaustion, they could figure it all out tomorrow.


	11. AN

AN

I love this story, I'm always pumped I got a million and one ideas when I write.

As a side note, originally I was never going to do flashbacks but it feels right, because Lucy DID have a past life and I really want to elaborate on that, I was also not going to reveal her and Perseus's previous relationship until she met him finally, but again it felt right to elaborate further.

Again Lucy and Virgo were not supposed to have any kind of relationship other than handmaiden and princess, but they ended up closer than I expected.

Pointing out, no this is not going to be a foursome (I can see where I might be leading to that), but a heartbreaking previous love tale, and how Lucy develops in her relationship with both Bickslow and Laxus (oh Perseus, I cry for you ): ) because since she _can't_ remember her past life she has no current feelings for Perseus (otherwise I'm not giving anything else away, NO SPOILERS!)

I'm looking for a beta for this story and I want my beta and I to go back and freshen up my previous chapters and make sure I've got my I's dotted and T's crossed and I've got my foundation blocks laid down and clear up any confusion anyone may have.

What I'm looking for in a Beta, is to help me decide whether or not to cut, edit, add or keep specific scenes I'm not sure how I feel about. I've kept two that two reviewers commented on, that my gut instinct told me not to add, and I should have listened to it, so I want a Beta to help my gut instinct out before I post next time.

I want my Beta to ask questions and help me tweak my stuff to make sure my readers know where I'm going, and keep it smooth sailings.

As always I hate when AN's cut a story off, so when I finally post a new chapter I will post on this chapter.

This story has more depth than I intended so whoever is willing to be Beta for this, I really appreciate the help!

I really hope you take the time to reread this, when I do fix my previous chapters, if not I understand :) I appreciate the support I've gotten for this story so far and I love you all, muah! 3


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